


When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place

by IllyanaA



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, RotS AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 00:17:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 37
Words: 77,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4725623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllyanaA/pseuds/IllyanaA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After killing three of the Jedi Order's best and brightest, Palpatine's fight with Jedi Master Mace Windu goes shorter than expected. Afraid he's lost his chance at recruiting a new apprentice, Sidious unleashes Order 66 across the galaxy, but, per their programming, the Clone Army is not to harm Anakin Skywalker. After witnessing the most painful loss he's ever experienced and injured at the hands of his captors, Anakin is ready to die like the rest of the Jedi, though not before getting his vengeance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Operation: Knightfall

**Author's Note:**

> First time ever posting a fanfic online anywhere. This work is unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine. This little "What if?" question just wouldn't leave me alone. Also, I'm not the best at naming things.

Anakin sits alone in the Council Chambers, and despairs. His initial anger at being sidelined during the arrest of one of his oldest friends—who just happens to be a Sith Lord—has subsided, and now, his fears for his wife and unborn child have taken hold. Palpatine—if that’s even his name—promised to show him how to save them, and he seemed convinced. But his dealings with the Sith in the past have all been a tangled web of deception, so how can he be sure he can trust them _now_?

He wishes Obi-Wan were here; he always has an answer. But his Master is on Utapau fighting Grievous—Anakin knows he should be there, too—and his wife is half-way across the city. He is alone. Frustrated, he moves to stand by the window that looks out to the Senate district and 500 Republica. The sun is setting now, and the room darkens. He feels colder in the encroaching darkness and sinks further into his cloak. He feels so lost. Padmé would never forgive him for betraying his principals just to save her. But it isn’t just her, it’s their child as well. Would she understand then? He can’t say for certain.

He looks back in the direction of his wife, tears falling now, and has almost made up his mind. Living without her would be living an incomplete life. That was the reason he had betrayed his vow to the Order those three years ago. He steels himself then, for the choice he is about to make. And then he feels it. A screaming in the Force of the loss of some of its greatest Masters, a dark panic, and the light within him whispering a warning: _Something is coming_. Breaking into a sprint, he leaves the Council room and makes his way to the lower levels of the Temple. As he runs, he tries to contact Master Windu, but it met with silence. The whisper of warning in the Force changes to a consistent shout, and he pushes harder, running as fast as he can to the main hallway of the Temple. He reaches the Temple side of the Processional Way at the same time as some of the other Masters.

They are met with a wall of incoming Clone Troopers marching towards them, gunning down any Jedi that happens to be standing nearby. The entirety of the Grand Army of the Republic stationed on Coruscant is now marching towards them. There is a mantra coming from the mass moving toward them. “Good soldiers follow orders.”

Lightsabers drawn, the front line of defense moves forward. And war breaks out in the Temple. Anakin briefly notes how foolish it is for the clones to attack their commanders, and hopes, when this is finished, that there is a kriffing good explanation. He is almost personally offended to see the 501st Battalion—his battalion—leading the charge.

He sees one of his fellow Jedi shot down beside him. A young voice floats to his ears over the noise of battle and another cry of warning cuts through the Force. “Master! There are more coming in on the higher levels!”

“Someone must get to the younglings!”

 _The younglings_. Anakin turns and runs as quickly as he can, jumping over the fallen and dodging blaster shots as he tries to make his way to the accommodation sector. He’s nearly there when an anguished wail in the Force shocks him, and he stumbles. He can feel the death of hundreds of Jedi across the galaxy, and as more Jedi in the Temple experience their loss, he can feel them falling, too.

He worries about Obi-Wan, but he thinks it would have felt different if he had died along with them.

 _No, don’t think about that now. Find those kids._ He recollects himself and begins to search the quarters and dormitories. gathering stray Padawans here and there. They are surprisingly silent, and he knows with certainty that many of them have just felt the deaths of their Masters.

_Please, Master. Please, be okay._

They fall in behind him as he looks for younglings. He manages to find a small group of younglings in a crèche behind a mountain of meditation pads. They look up at him, terror etched on their little faces, unable to comprehend the feelings of death and chaos around them.

One of them, a boy who cannot be more than six standard years old, steps forward. “Master Skywalker, there are too many of them. What are we going to do?”

Anakin looks between them and the Padawans and is struck by an idea. To the older students, he says: “How many of you have a place where you go to…get away from your Masters? C’mon, we all have at least one.”

A few students nodded.

“The one that I use most often is nearby,” A Twi’lek Padawan speaks up.

“Good. Go there, and wait until one of us finds you, or until you sense that it is clear. Understand? These clones don’t know the Temple as well as we do.”

The students gather behind him; the older Padawans have their lightsabers lit. “We’re ready.” "

May the Force be with you all.” They go out together, but the fighting has come closer now. Anakin begins to fear that there won’t be enough time for the younglings to hide. If they are to get away, he has to lead the clones as far from them as possible.

He stops and turns to face them. “We’re gonna have to split up. You go. I’ll try to draw them away.”

“But, Master Skyw—“

“You’ll be fine. Go!”

He stands and watches them leave until they are well away in the opposite direction. He tries to reach into the Force for direction, to find the locations of nearby troops, but he is again overwhelmed by an onslaught of emotions.

_Fighting without the Force. Great._

It doesn’t take him too much wandering until he finds a group of troopers. A large group of troopers. As soon as the first one notices him, a volley of blaster blots fly in his direction. He deflects and dodges and deflects and dodges until he reaches the Archives. He has taken a few of them out, but he is hoping to use the holobookshelves and columns for cover. To his dismay, the clones’ blaster fire is rapidly destroying his cover. Absently, he thinks of how devastated Obi-Wan will be when he sees this.

Another shot is deflected, another clone dies, but their numbers do not seem to be thinning. He knows they are closing in on him, and while he is good, he doubts that he can handle this many at once. A split second before it happens, he leaps out of the way of the well thrown detonator, and he ends up further out in the open than he had intended to be. Now all the troops around him are closing in on his position, so he steals himself for another fight. Lightsaber ready again, centering breaths taken, and Anakin jumps out and up, landing behind two unsuspecting clones. He swings his blade and cuts cleanly through the heads of the two men, moving to the next closest and running his blade up through his chest. With each one he takes down, another seems to rise up in their place. He feels physically sick to know his blade is ending the lives of soldiers he has fought beside. For once, he is glad he cannot see their faces.

 _I will find out what happened to all of you_.

More troopers have closed in and the can feel his body begin to ache with every movement. The combination of a continuing battle and the overwhelming pain and anguish in the Force have been draining his energy. And it is only now that he notices how quiet the Temple has become. He decides to try and make for higher ground—a tactical advantage in this case—but just as he thinks he’s made it, he feels a searing pain tear trough his right shoulder. As he falls, he sees the culprit. This is more than a shot from a standard blaster; this is a high-powered energy rifle that has not only burned a hole in his shoulder but has sent an electrical impulse down into the wires in his mechanical hand. His hands spasms and his lightsaber hits the floor; he follows quickly behind.

He tries to get back up and call his lightsaber to his hands, but before he can get up, he feels an electrostaff press to his spine. Two more clones appear, holding the same weapon, and they alternate between using it for shock and beating him with it. He hates that he can’t get up. Hates that electricity has always been his nemesis. With every press of the staves to his back, he notices that he is beginning to lose feeling in his flesh arm and his legs. There is blood dripping from his back where the ends of the staves have broken the skin. Combining with the other open wounds from where the blunt force of the staves have hit, the loss of blood is starting to make him light-headed. Or maybe it was that most recent blow to the head, he’s not sure. He wonders why they don’t just shoot him again—

“That’s enough. Lord Sidious wants him alive to see this.”

He feels a fist in his hair, and he is being dragged up and forced to look at a holocommunicator. And what he sees steals the air from his lungs. Padmé is being held by four clones who are wearing the armour of Coruscant security.

_“Say, hi.”_

_"Hello, Ani.”_

His heart is pounding in his chest, and if he could move his limbs, he would be running to her as fast as he could. “She’s not a Jedi,” he croaks out, body continuing to weaken. “Leave her alone.”

He looks over his pregnant wife, and, while he knows she’s terrified, everything about her stance screams defiance. She has never been one to shrink in the face of danger. He’s waiting for an explanation, an ultimatum, but all he gets is the sound of a shot being fired, another press of an electrostaff to his back, and the sight of his beloved’s body crumpling to the floor. A strangled “no” rips from his throat. He wants to get up, but his limbs don’t respond. The hand in his hair is removed, and his head falls back against the stone floor.

A communicator beeps and the image of Palpatine springs to life in the center. The device is placed on the ground next to him, allowing Anakin to speak with his former confidant.

“Why? Why did you kill her? You said you could save—“ _“_

_"You should have joined me when you had the chance, boy. Now, you’ll have to do it the hard way.”_

“What—” he takes a painful breath, “makes you think I’d join you now? You killed my wife, and our _child_.” _“_

 _Children,”_ Palpatine corrects. _“Scans indicate there were two. A boy and a girl.”_

A whimper escapes the young Jedi’s lips. _Two. There were two. Padmé, I’m so sorry._  

" _Now, you have nothing, and no one. Your Master is dead, and so are your wife and children.”_

He seethes. “I’ll kill you. I swear; I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done.” _“_

_Four Jedi have tried, and now their bodies clutter the floor of my office. The only way you can defeat me, is to learn from me.”_

“Lord Sidious,” the commander interrupts, “he may not survive. His injuries are…more extensive than we had anticipated.” _  
_

_"This is your test. Your hatred for me can keep you alive, can allow the darkness to begin repairing your body. Once you’ve opened yourself up to the Dark Side, you’ll begin experiencing power you have never known before. Know this, you will never avenge your family with the power of a Jedi.”_ The Sith Lord tilts his head up to troops. _“Leave him. Let him lie there and think. We’ll see him again, soon enough.”_

A chorus of “right way, Sir” rings out around him. He hears boots smacking against the stone as they march away. And then he is left in silence. The realization of all that has just occurred sets in, and he begins to weep, loud, racking sobs that reverberate and combine with the feelings in the Force around him. He pulls away from the Force then, shrinking back like a youngling who’s been slapped by it.

Cut off from the Force now, he is _completely_ alone. And really, his biggest fear has always been being alone. Part him screams at him to fight, that way he can keep his promise to Sidious. He _will_ make him pay. But the longer he lies here, the more the fight leaves him, and he can't seem to get a hold of it. He begins to pray that death will come quickly, and dares to hope that his family—Master, mother, wife and children—will be there when he arrives. Eventually, when he feels unconsciousness come knocking, he closes his eyes, and lets it take him. The world darkens around him, but this darkness is not near as cold as the kind Sidious was offering.

And, oh, how he hates being cold.

 


	2. When All Around My Soul Gives Way

The moment he sets foot in the Temple, his heart breaks. The bodies on the floor suck the life out of him, and he feels just as dead as the clone he steps over. The scorch marks marring the once beautiful pillars of the hallways serve as a grim reminder of the darkness that now scars the galaxy. Obi-Wan walks next to his Grand Master in poignant silence, until, lying at his feet, he sees the bodies of younglings.     

He kneels down next to a particularly young, human girl, and is the first to break the silence. “Why? Why would they do this? We’ve fought alongside them for three years—“

“Confused, the clones must have been.”

Even as he looks around him, his grief is outweighed by fear. He doesn’t see his Padawan among the dead in the grand hallway, but he has had no contact from the younger Jedi since before he left for Utapau. Worse still, he is silent in the Force, and whenever Obi-Wan tries to reach for him, the darkness in the Force suffocates him.

_I have to find him. Even if he’s dead. That way I’ll know._

He walks with Master Yoda to the communication center and records a message that he hopes will provide comfort, but his mind is distracted. He's not even sure how many Jedi are even alive to _hear_ his message. They walk further into the Temple, and, still, Anakin is nowhere to be found. Each moment that passes and each body that he walks by, he fears the next one he sees will be _his_.

“Go to the Archives, we should, to see if any history can be preserved.”

They walk to the Archives, and Obi-Wan thinks he should be acclimated to the destruction around him. But when they walk in and find 25,000 years of history and knowledge destroyed and left in ruins, the hard truth finally sets in.

His home, his family. The Jedi Order has fallen.

Master Yoda walks one way among the debris, and he takes the other. Stepping over clones and rubble, he spots a hand under a fallen holobookshelf. He lifts the wreckage and the finds the body of Madame Jocasta Nu. He calls for Master Yoda, and the old master kneels down next to her.

Obi-Wan leaves him to his grief.

He continues further into the Archives and decides there is nothing he can save. Everything is too far gone. He begins to turn back and rejoin with Yoda, when he spots it: a cloak, darker than those usually worn by Jedi, in a heap on the floor. Panic surges.

When he gets closer, he sees the head of messy, curly hair. “Anakin!”

He drops to his knees beside him so quickly, that he slides a little bit. As soon as he touches him, he can sense him, and would rejoice that his Padawan is still alive, were it not for the weakening presence he feels in the Force.

He pulls the boy into his arms, and presses a hand to his cheek, reaching to him in the Force. “Anakin. Anakin, please.”

The boy stirs, gives him a glossy, confused look, and whimpers out, “Master?”

“I’m here, Little One.” He smiles sadly and brushes hair out of his former student’s eyes. “We’re going to get you out of here.” And it’s strange, he thinks, for an injured Jedi to be fleeing the Temple instead of running to it.

Anakin leans into him, only protesting when Obi-Wan picks him up, and the older man finds it a little disconcerting that the boy makes no move to pull himself further against his master. Instead, his entire body is limp, and his limbs dangle down toward the floor.

They find Master Yoda back toward the entrance of the Archives, and in his hands, he hold a single holocron.

“Alive, is he?”

“Yes, Master. But he is weakening.”

“Get him to Senator Organa, we must.”

 A whisper interrupts them both. “Younglings…there are younglings still alive. Hidden,” he grates out.

Obi-Wan kneels back down beside a fallen pillar, shifting Anakin’s unmoving form so he can meet his eyes. “Where, Anakin? Where did you leave them?”

“I told the oldest Padawan to go where she would sometime hide to avoid her Master. Like I used to…” his speech is slurring, and his breaths continue to weaken. He needs life support. _Now_.

_You couldn’t make it easy for me, could you?_

“Find the younglings, you must, Obi-Wan.” He tapped his gimmer stick on the ground for emphasis. “Stay with Skywalker, I will.”

“Where were you when you left them, Anakin?”

“Accommodation sector.”

He briefly presses a palm to his cheek. “I’ll find them.

“I’ll be here.”

Obi-Wan makes his way down to the accommodation sector, and finds more destruction, more death. He runs his hand along the wall for a moment. He remembers these hallways full of life and laughter. But, now, the younglings that should be giggling and playing are sprawled lifeless on the floor next to their crèche masters. The doors to the quarters of Knights are left wide open, and their inhabitants bodies are slumped on their meditation pads or fallen back on their sleep couches.

He reaches into the Force as much as he dares, now that he knows a Sith Lord is practically across the street from the Temple. He walks along, stretching his mind as far as he can in the smothering darkness. He looks for any glimmer of life, any sign of the children. Finally, he feels a tentative push of a young mind reaching out for any sign that the coast is clear. He follows the feeling, and can then sense the collective signature of the group of younglings. He stands in the middle of the corridor where he feels them the strongest.

“Younglings? Younglings! You can come out now.”

A stone tile in the floor moves, and a Twi’lek, female Padawan is the first to crawl out. “Master Kenobi! I’m glad you’re alive!”

“I am glad that you students survived. Tell the younglings to come out now. We must hurry.”

Obi-Wan leads the cluster of young Jedi back to the Library. He wishes he could shield them from the carnage around them. These children will never be the same after what they have witnessed today. The students are overjoyed to see Master Yoda, so he leaves the younglings to him and makes a beeline for Anakin.

He lays a hand on Anakin’s shoulder, stretching out with his Force Perception. He feels his condition has worsened. Anakin stirs at the mental contact and forces his eyes to meet his teacher’s.

“Be still, Anakin. We’re leaving.” He turns to Master Yoda. “We need to get to the hanger and find an unmarked ship.” He glances down at Anakin. “The sooner we get to Senator Organa, the better.”

Yoda leads the way out of the Archives, the learners following close behind. Obi-Wan picks up his apprentice and brings up the rear. He fears there may not be enough time to get Anakin to life support, and, while he has some ability to heal, he is not a trained healer. He learned his lesson on Lanteeb. Even so, as soon as he can put Anakin safely in a med-bay, he’ll do everything he can—push his limits—to try and buy him more time. Perhaps a healer survived this massacre. But if he crippled himself by healing Anakin, so be it.

Master Yoda makes quick work of the clones guarding the hanger. They find a small transport ship, but there is only standing room, so Obi-Wan leans Anakin against the wall of the ship. He is volunteered to fly by Master Yoda, thus he starts the engine and prays that they’ll be able to leave the Temple unnoticed.

As they take off and go out into the haze of a Courscanti sunset, he looks at the Temple for possibly the last time. The image of the sun setting over the Temple, seems to cement the fact the Jedi Order is gone. What a fitting ending to this fateful day.

He keys in Senator Organa’s comm frequency.

_“Organa.”_

“Senator, we are awaiting a rendezvous. And we’ll be needing medical attention.”

_“I’ll send you our location and prepare the med-bay.”_

Obi-Wan inputs the coordinates he has just been given and takes them out of Courscant’s atmosphere. The _Tantive IV_ is waiting for them just outside of planetary boundaries. They dock in the hanger, and, as soon as they are landed and the ramp comes down, they are met by the Senator and a few of his aides. The aides help Master Yoda get the younglings taken care of, one of them counts off how many blankets they’ll need, another tries to get an estimate for food while in transit. Obi-Wan gathers Anakin back up into his arms and meets Bail at the bottom of the ramp, who quickly begins leading him through the hallways of the ship and to the medical bay.

“He looks terrible. What happened?”

“I have yet to discover. He’s not been conscious long enough for me to speak with him.”

They reach the med-bay and are met by a medical droid. Obi-Wan lays Anakin down on a bed, and the droid starts to run a check of Anakin’s functions. He attaches the necessary equipment and begins a blood transfusion. Obi-Wan waits as patiently as possible for news of his condition. But the longer the droid takes, the harder it becomes. After what seems like an eternity,  the MD droid gives him a report.

“He has extensive nerve damage, Sir, and limb paralysis. Both of which may be reversible thanks to new technology. But it is entirely possible that he may not walk on his own again. He is breathing on his own, but his heart rhythm must be continually regulated due to extensive electric shock to the SA node. A trained medical professional can direct you in the next steps, but I am only a droid.”

The droid turns and goes about other business, leaving Obi-Wan standing shocked footsteps from Anakin’s bedside. The words _limb paralysis_ and _nerve damage_ ring in his mind. He knows the techniques the healers would try to use on nerve damaged patients, but it was never guaranteed. And some of them just never recovered. The idea that Anakin—always on the move Anakin—can’t currently move on his own is upsetting, and the idea that he may never again is mortifying. He moves over to his former Padawan, and sits on the bed next to him. He runs a hand through the boy’s hair, and Anakin leans into the touch. He stirs a little, and Obi-Wan tries to put him back to sleep with a mild Force suggestion, but Anakin manages to resist it. He blinks a few times—the pain killer has obviously taken hold—but eventually gets his eyes open. His gaze finds his former Master’s, and Obi-Wan smiles at him softly.

“M-Master.” He blinks a few more times. “Where are we?”

“On the _Tantive IV_. Senator Organa is taking us to Alderaan.”

“Oh.” He looks away for a moment. “Master, I…I can’t move.”

“I know. The droid told me. We’ll start trying to get you healed once we’ve _both_ had some rest.”

Anakin shakes his head. “You can’t. Master, you’ll kill yourself. I can’t-I can’t lose _you_ , too.” His voice trails off, but Obi-Wan hears the emotion in his voice. He’ll press him for details later. Right now, he needs to rest.

“I’m going to try anything right now. Go back to sleep, Anakin.” He sighs, adding a touch of Force persuasion to his words. “This has been quite a day.”

This time, Anakin doesn’t fight it, instead he tries to move closer to Obi-Wan, to no avail. The older Jedi takes pity on him, and moves to hold him, more for both their sakes than Obi-Wan would like to admit. He’s careful not to jostle any of the medical equipment attached to the younger man. He shifts so that he’s comfortable, and, as soon as they both settle, Anakin falls asleep quickly.

Alone at last, holding his Padawan, the reality of the day’s events take hold. The reality that he could have easily lost Anakin, could have found his body lifeless among the dead, grips him. His mind projects that possibility in front of him—Anakin pale and cold; Anakin on a funeral pyre—so he pulls the younger Jedi against him a little more, willing the image away. It is replaced by the memories of his life in the Temple, his time with other Jedi, before those images crumble, too, leaving only pictures of destruction in their wake. He tries to banish these thoughts, but they come in wave

And it is because he is alone, that he presses his cheek to Anakin’s hair and allows himself to weep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get a little more Obi-Wan this time. I'm not entirely sure where the story is going to go from here, but that's part of the fun.


	3. I Dare Not Trust the Sweetest Frame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes made are mine. My memory of Anatomy and Physiology is pretty good, but take my medical descriptions with a grain of salt.

Obi-Wan is the first to wake. He lifts his head up to look at the chrono on the wall. It reads 0500 hours Standard time, so he figure they’ll be to Alderaan to before too much longer. He untangles himself from where he had curled around Anakin, and eases himself off the bed, careful not to wake him.

He reaches down to pull on his boots and feels—and hears—his back let out a series of cracks. He gets his boots on, ignoring the aches in his body and the crick in his neck, and clips his lightsaber back to his hip. Obi-Wan glances back at Anakin, checks the monitors—everything is as it should be, and repositions the blankets up around Anakin’s shoulders. He briefly lays a hand on his shoulder and leaves to find Senator Organa.

He finds him in the galley, sitting at a table. He stares down at his tray of untouched food, and the man looks like he’s been to Wild Space and back. Which, Obi-Wan remembers, he has. They _both_ have, and at this moment, he thinks he’d take Zigoola over the events of these past few days.

“Senator?”

The man in front of his visibly jumps. He looks over to where Obi-Wan is standing and runs a hand over his face. “You startled me, Master Kenobi.”

“May I sit?”

Bail nods his permission, and Obi-Wan sits at the table across from him. They sit in silence for a few moments, Bail shoving food around with his fork.

“How did we not see this coming?” He asks at last. “Did the Jedi have any inclination, any idea?”

Obi-Wan shakes his head. “I was on Utapau when all this began. Had you not been nearby, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

There is silence again before: “Padme is dead.”

Obi-Wan starts, those two words punching him hard in the gut. “What?”

“I called one of her aides to see if she wanted accompaniment to the emergency meeting. When there was no answer, I went by her apartment. I found a cleaning crew carrying her out.”

 _Oh, Anakin._ “Who killed her?”

“Clones.” He pauses. “I know that she and Skywalker were…close. Does he know?”

 _I think everyone knew they were close. Neither one of them is very good at hiding their feelings._ “I don’t know.” _And I don’t know how I would tell him._ “Bail, you can’t hide us for long. What happened to Padmé may very well happen to you and anyone who shelters us.”

“We can decide what to do with you once things have settled down.” One of his aides sets two cups of caf down in front of them. Bail blows are the steam a bit and takes a tentative sip of the hot liquid. “What’s the news on your Padawan?”

“Well, Short-term: he’s got some intense bruising on some internal organs and lost a lot of blood. Long term: he has serious nerve damage and currently no movement in his limbs.” His voice wavers. “He may never walk again.”

“I’m so sorry.”

A panicked man bursts into the galley. “Senator, forgive my intrusion. But the Empire is searching all ships entering and exiting major planets.

“Give them our pass from the Imperial Senate. They shouldn’t stop us as long as that code is accurate.”

The man runs back out of the room, and Obi-Wan looks at his friend. “Is there anywhere we can hide the younglings in case of boarding?”

“We can put them in in a few beneath-the-floor storage compartments that I had installed last year.”

Obi-Wan nods. “Master Yoda can hide with them, but Anakin cannot be moved.”

A voice filtered through over the intercom. _“Senator, they are going to board.”_

They exchange glances and Bail tosses down his caf. “I wish there was alcohol in this. I’ll get the younglings moved. Get to the med-bay. I’ll try to keep them out of there.”

They part ways, Obi-Wan running back to the med-bay, and Bail running to the docking area. As soon as Obi-Wan enters the room, he begins to scan the room for a hiding place. He spots a panel on the wall and, upon further inspection, finds that it is an equipment closet.

Hiding spot found, he disconnects everything from Anakin except for the machine keeping his heart on a steady rhythm. This way they can make a quick move for the closet if their enemy decides to come in. He sits next to Anakin and waits.

The boy looks so much younger, as he lay prone on the bed. He is pale and still, and that in and of itself is worrying. Anakin is never still. He moves when he sleeps; he prefers moving meditation. He is the epitome of energy. And he hopes, he _prays_ that he’ll be able to walk again. Obi-Wan reaches out brushes hair out of Anakin’s eyes. He’s made these kind of un-Jedi-like displays of emotion with increasing frequency lately. It should concern him, letting his attachment show like this, but it doesn’t. _The Order is gone anyway,_ his mind whispers.

He wonders if their ordeal is over—he hasn’t heard from Bail—and he’s about to comm him, when he hears voices outside the door.

“Sir, I really must insist. The medical bay is undergoing the sanitization process. You’ll interrupt—“

“Step aside, Senator.”

Obi-Wan ignores the rest of the conversation and pulls the last piece of equipment off of Anakin. He picks his former student up, off-handedly uses the Force to pull the blankets up to a “made position”, and moves quickly to the closet. He kneels down against the wall and rearranges the coats and equipment to shield the two of them the best they can.

He hears one last command: “Step aside, Senator, or I’ll hold you in obstruction.” And then the door opens.

Anakin shifts and groans.

“Hush, Anakin,” He shushes. In the Force he whispers a command. _Be still and quiet._

He can hear footsteps outside, and—with the help of the Force—counts five people. One of them walks closer and closer to the closet, and Obi-Wan begins to worry that the equipment won’t adequately hide them. And then, a warning in the Force. He thinks it’s the men outside the door, so he pulls Anakin closer to him. But when he does, he senses something is wrong. He reaches out in the Force, sending his perception sweeping through Anakin once again, and he feels Anakin’s heart failing. He presses two fingers to his Padawan’s carotid artery. His heartbeat is erratic. The door in front of them opens, and Obi-Wan doesn’t breathe.

The man makes no move at first, as if he is scanning the closet for anything out of place. He looks like he’s going to move the coats, and Obi-Wan really wishes he had grabbed Anakin’s dark cloak to throw over them, it would have helped them blend in with the back of the wall. But before the man can get a hand out, a voice rings out an order to move out. He closes the door and marches back to meet his unit, and as soon as he hears them march out of the room and the sound of the med-bay door closing, he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

 He moves as quickly as he can to get Anakin back on the bed and reattached to the machinery he needs to keep him alive. He gets a diagnostic going, and after a few seconds the screen flashes a warning: _ventricular tachycardia_. He remembers enough from his required courses in Physiology, combined with his many, many hours spent in hospitals and the Healer’s Ward, to know what needs to be done. Anakin’s heart is beating too quickly to adequately pump blood through his body; it needs to be shocked back into rhythm. He tells the computer to provide him with pads to shock him with, and an arm descends from a panel in the ceiling with the necessary equipment.

_Please, Little One, don’t give up on me now._

He stands back from the bedside when the computer commands “clear.” He waits for a conformation from the computer, and hears Bail come in behind him.

The computer chimes out, _“Analyzing heart rhythm.”_

“What happened—“

_“Shock is needed. Administering shock.”_

Anakin received another shock, and this one seems to have worked. Obi-Wan moves back to Anakin’s bedside and places his hands on Anakin’s chest. He takes a deep breath and reaches out, picturing Anakin’s heart in his mind. He surges forward and initiates a light meld with Anakin’s mind and body. He gathers the energy he can—he hasn’t slept well, and when he has it’s only been for a few hours—and begins to try and repair Anakin’s heart tissue. He hears Bail gasp behind him. He knows his hands must be glowing, which means he’s doing something right, but he can’t detect much progress in the wounds in Anakin’s heart. He would give anything for a healing crystal. He pushes more energy in, and he can feel the toll it’s taking on his body. He’s not a healer; he’s not trained. He’s not sure how much longer he can do this, how much more he can give.

“ _Heart condition improved. Defibrillator no longer needed,”_ the computer announces.

Obi-Wan doesn’t retreat from Anakin’s mind until, “Does his heart still need artificial assistance?”

Another pause. _“Negative. The heart can function on its own.”_

He relaxes, releases himself from his hold on Anakin’s mind and heart, and collapses backward. Bail catches him and lowers him to the floor.

“Master Kenobi, are you alright?”

“I’m…I’m exhausted, Senator,” he says between breaths. He’s drained. He wants to sleep.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Just get me up on the bed.”

With Bail’s assistance, he climbs up next to Anakin again. He’s starting to think this will become a regular occurrence. And it will be, if he can’t find a real healer to take care of him. He mumbles a thank-you to Bail, and he thinks he hears the other man leave.

“I’m getting to old for this, Anakin.” He whispers, rolling over onto his side. Sleep comes to overtake him, and he feels a blanket placed over his shoulders.

Maybe he’ll sleep better tonight. Maybe the nightmares won’t come.

And maybe he’ll wake up tomorrow and this will all have been a dream.

 

 

 

  



	4. The Path Ahead Is Winding On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual all mistakes are mine. Sidious decided he wanted a piece of the spotlight this time. It's about to get intense.

When the report comes that Senator Organa’s ship is clear, Sidious leans back in his chair, frustrated. Anakin has disappeared without a trace, and, for some unknown reason, he cannot sense him in the Force. He is convinced Kenobi must’ve survived and managed to rescue him. And if the Jedi Master can cloak Anakin’s Force Signature, well, he’s more powerful than Sidious realized.

Which is _irritating_ , he muses as he walks over to look out at the Coruscanti night sky, but only a minor setback to his plans. Trillions of beings on this world and others, and all of them played their parts on his stage wonderfully. There is no reason to think he cannot orchestrate another act that plays out just as well as the first.

Kenobi can still be killed; Skywalker can still be motivated.

And, if all else fails, he has two little replacements that should do just fine.

 _Yes,_ he thinks. _Just fine indeed._

*   *    *    *   *   *

Alderaan is entering into its winter cycle. It’s evident by the snow caps surrounding the caldera that houses the capitol city of Aldera. However, when they step off the _Tantive IV_ , it’s warmer than Obi-Wan would have expected. Most likely not warm enough for Anakin’s liking, but certainly not unpleasant.

They land at night, on Bail’s private platform, and the Jedi are hustled off the ship, hidden under their cloaks. Anakin is taken by medical personnel on a stretcher to some infirmary that Bail has had closed off from prying eyes. They are told they will kept out of sight, but will be allowed to move during the night hours when the majority of the staff is asleep. Bail tells Obi-Wan that he is confident the members of his workforce are trustworthy, but one can never be too careful.

They are shown to their rooms, a group of four or five younglings are assigned an older student to watch over them, and Obi-Wan and Yoda are placed not too far away. They can be reached easily should the need arise. Once they are settled, Bail leaves to find Breha and attend to some “royal business.”

Obi-Wan’s quarters are quite a bit larger than his at the Temple, but still meagerly furnished. Which is nice, he doesn’t do well with extremely ornate surroundings, something Anakin teases him about incessantly. There is one bed, a desk with a chair, a small kitchen unit, and ‘fresher. On the bed is a change of clothes, just as blue as the bedding they lay on.

Changed—the blues a drastic change from the soft browns of the Jedi—he walks to the small kitchen and makes himself a cup of tea.

Tea secured, he leaves his room and wanders down the hall to Master Yoda’s room, checking on the younglings along the way. All are soundly asleep, some on the beds of each room, some on the chairs, and one on the window seat. He wonders if this is the first time some of them have slept since it happened.

He finds Yoda’s room with the door unlocked. Undoubtedly, he sensed he was coming. The door slides open to find the diminutive Master sitting at a computer terminal.

 _The galaxy_ has _been turned upside down._

It’s not that Master Yoda dislikes computers, it’s just that whenever he has a question or is searching for something, one is more likely to find him immersed in the Force, sitting on a mediation pad. Seeing him searching the HoloNet is…strange.

“Looking for a suitable Temple, I am.” Yoda’s voice causes him to jump.

Obi-Wan sits on the window seat next to the desk. “But, Master, surely if the Temples can be searched on the Net, the Empire will be monitoring them.”

Yoda nods. “Know, I will, which Temples remain hidden from the Empire’s eyes, by what I find here.”

Obi-Wan sips his tea. “It is likely that many of the Temples will be overrun by the local flora and fauna. Some of them have been abandoned for millennia.”

Yoda powers off the computer, and slides off the chair. “The one on Belsavis, unlikely it is that plant life we will find.”

“I thought the only place on Belsavis that housed Jedi was Plett’s Well, only younglings lived there.”

“Not far from there, and underground enclave was built, long before our time.”

Obi-Wan looks down into his tea, turning his cup in his hands. “I feel I am always learning new things about the Order.” He can feel Yoda’s gaze on him, scrutinizing him like he would when Obi-Wan was a child.

“Something else troubles you.”

“I…I am just—How did we not know?” He asks, echoing the question the Senator had asked him earlier. “The Sith Lord was quite literally across the street from us, and we never suspected. We sat in the same _room_ as him—”

 “Understand your frustration I do, Obi-Wan. But years in the making, this plan has been. Powerful Sidious is. Wonder now, we cannot. Decide what do in the present, we _must_.” He tapped his gimmer stick on the tile for emphasis.

Before he can speak again, Obi-Wan’s comm link chimes. “Kenobi.”

_“Bail here. Obi-Wan, you may want to see this. One of my aides is on their way to you. Bring Master Yoda.”_

The two Masters exit Yoda’s chambers and make their way down the corridor. Bail’s aide meets leads them into an expansive room filled with screens covering news, markets, and stocks from across the galaxy. But on four of the screens is footage from the final hours of the Outer Rim sieges, depicting the Jedi’s best generals in their final moments. The videos change to images of the Clone Army standing over their fallen leaders, and the editing makes it look gritty and moving.

The voice over says, _“The Empire has rid the galaxy of one its greatest enemies. The corrupt and cult-like Jedi Order has been destroyed.”_

It cuts to a clip from the night of the emergency Senate meeting. _“The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated._ ”

The voice returns, and Obi-Wan sees pictures flash on the screen. _“If you know anything about the whereabouts of these Jedi, you will be rewarded. Help us make the galaxy a safer place.”_

And portraits of Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda, and others flash across the screen. The video ends with the symbol of the Empire.

The three look at each other. Obi-Wan runs a hand over his beard, and closes his eyes. He hears Bail next to him: “The Empire wasted no time getting propaganda funded and released to the public. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to hide you here. “

“Found a suitable location, we have. Leave as soon as possible, we must.”

Obi-Wan’s heart skips a beat. “But, Master Yoda, Anakin is not fit to travel, let alone be brought to an abandoned enclave with no healer.”

“Remain here, we cannot. Kind it was for Senator Organa to shelter us here. Put himself in considerable danger, he has. Impose on his kindness, we will not.” Yoda turns to Bail, “A ship can you have ready for us to travel.”

“As soon as I can, Master Yoda.”

Assuming he has the last word, Master Yoda begins working his way out of the room. Obi-Wan frantically follows.

“Speak of this no more, will we. Unity the Order needs right now, and a common location.”

Obi-Wan flings an arm out to his side. “Master Yoda, look around! The Order is gone. Right now all we have are you and I, Anakin who cannot move, and youngling with no masters. We need time for the Empire to settle, for them to stop checking ships.”

“More may die, if a place to go, they are not provided.”

“The message recorded said to lay low until contacted—“

Yoda turns to face him then. “Panicking, you are. Frantic, a Jedi should not be. Calmly, will we regroup and re-center. The Order lives on in all of us. Remember your place, and follow orders, you _will_.”

And Obi-Wan is stunned to silence. He hasn’t been dressed down like that since he was a Padawan. He also hasn’t felt this angry since he was a Padawan. Qui-Gon’s initial reasoning for denying him an apprenticeship, was for the same vice that plagued Anakin. But he stands alone in the expanse of the hallway, and his hands are shaking. He will not play loosely with Anakin’s life. He had hoped Yoda would see that they need him if they have any hope of defeating Sidious. And beyond that, Anakin is his student; Obi-Wan will do what is best for him.

He walks to the infirmary, the time it takes to travel there clears his head, and he enters the room with a much clearer head. He checks Anakin’s vitals and hunts down the doctor in charge of Anakin’s care while he’s here.

“You must be, Master Kenobi. Anakin’s guardian?”

He smiles. “I suppose I can be considered that. How does it look?”

The doctor picks up her datapad and reads off the issues. “He’s still shown no sign of movement, although the initial heart trauma doesn’t seem as bad as was originally reported.”

“I, ah, might have had something to do with that.”

“Well, whatever you did, it worked. But I cannot get a response from him,” she sighs. “I’ve been trying to reach him, but there is no reason for him not to regain consciousness.”

The smile drops from Obi-Wan’s face. “Have you ever treated a Jedi, Doctor?”

“Not at all,” she admits.

Obi-Wan walks back to Anakin’s side. “I’m concerned there is a more…Force-related issue to Anakin’s current condition. And as soon as I’m allowed time with him, I’ll try to get to him in the Force.”

She put her hands up as if to demonstrate surrender. “I will defer to your expertise in that area, Master Jedi.” She looks down, and sadness creates a shadow on her face. “I’ve been meaning to ask…my brother was taken as a Jedi nine years ago as a candidate. Is there any way of knowing if he is alive?”

Telling families of fallen Jedi of their loss was never easy, but now he wonders how many families will never know of their children’s fates. “I do not know. But if I can find out, I will.”

She nods her thanks and goes back to her work. He takes one last look at Anakin, and returns to his room. He sits on the floor and tries to meditate on the issue, to reach into the Force and find _answers_. All he gets in return is silence and darkness. Defeated, he lies down on his bed, wraps himself up in his blankets, and waits for sleep.


	5. Support Them in the Whelming Flood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Appearance from a few familiar faces this time. All mistakes are mine. I borrowed a quote from Wild Space, virtual cookie to anyone who can find out which.

Obi-Wan begins his day at Anakin’s side. The doctor has given him her permission to do as he sees fit, but she stays nearby in case something goes wrong.

He takes Anakin’s hand and breathes deeply. Reaching into Anakin’s mind would be easier than getting in to the Force at large—what with the lingering darkness and all. It is times like these that he’s thankful his and Anakin’s bond has remained intact, and not only intact, but strengthening. It makes reaching him much easier, knowing that he won’t have Anakin’s subconscious fighting him every step of the way.

The good doctor takes one last look at his vitals and gives Obi-Wan permission to start.

“Don’t pull me away from him unless you absolutely fear for our lives.”

_All right, Padawan, let’s find out why you won’t touch the Force._

He moves to sit on the bed, and pulls Anakin up against his chest. Because neither of them have been gifted with telepathy, contact makes the process run a little more smoothly. Obi-Wan takes a deep breath, and brushes Anakin’s mind. The boy’s shields are loose at best—Obi-Wan’s been reinforcing them—but the little he has left drop instantly at the touch. He tries to initiate a meld, but it’s one-sided, and he really can’t dig deep unless Anakin reaches back. To do so otherwise would be a massive invasion of privacy, and something he promised his Padawan he would never do.

So, he does the only thing he can and begins to try and communicate with him. It’ll be superficial at best, but hopefully enough to get the boy semi-conscious. He brings his mind closer to Anakin’s and melds the edges of their minds together. Trying to get a response, he sends feelings first, these are easiest, feelings of safety and concern. He tries to impress on Anakin’s mind his worry, his need for him to wake up, to be all right, but he doesn’t answer.

He tales a deeper breath this time and brings images to his mind—pictures of the rescue, the medbay, of Obi-Wan curled up next to him, and due to the nature of the meld, Anakin should be seeing them, too. But either he isn’t or it isn’t enough, so Obi-Wan must gather up energy and try to transmit a thought.

Oh, what he would give to have been gifted telepathy.

 _Anakin…_ he tries. _Anakin, come back to me, young one. We’re losing you._

Nothing.

He feels his brow crease in frustration, and he tries again. _Anakin, please. Don’t make me break my promise._

Nothing.

He sighs, and braces himself for a fight. He pushes further into Anakin’s mind and is met with a wall of—not light, not dark—emptiness. How he imagines the mind of a non-Force sensitive to feel, but even they have some semblance of a presence in their mind. Anakin’s just feels empty. Devoid of everything.

And worse, Obi-Wan is so swathed in the Light side that it sticks out in the void of Anakin’s mind, and it begins to attack it, pushing back at him with everything he has. Obi-Wan tries to ignore the pressure now placed on him by Anakin’s uncooperativeness, and searches the barrenness for something that resembles the rebellious, troubled, but generally happy presence of his Padawan. He’s a gentle as he can be, sifting through the threads of Anakin’s mind, but the mind is a fragile place, and he can feel some tearing in the fabric around him. One more thing he’ll have to heal later.

The pressure increases the deeper he goes, and he thinks he can feel Anakin’s physical body tensing in response to the effort he’s exerting trying to throw the intruder out.

_This would be a lot easier if you would relax, you know._

He pushes deeper still, and he’s starting to notice the strain put on his mind as well due in part to Anakin’s constant pushing and his own digging. But he peels back one more layer—briefly pausing to consider how deeply melded they would be at this point were it a two-way meld—and stumbles across something that feels so wonderfully and completely _Anakin_. His Padawan is presenting the image of a child curled up in the corner of room, scared and neglected. He tries to reach out to him, praying Anakin latches on to him willingly, but the boy doesn’t move. If anything, he shrinks further away.

He realizes that Anakin isn’t shying away from _him_ so much as he’s shying away from the Force as a whole.

Obi-Wan is tiring quickly now, the pressure on his mind almost over-whelming, and makes a decision he hopes he won’t regret.

_I would never do anything to hurt you, but this is going to hurt._

 He surges forward, takes hold of Anakin’s mind with as firm a grip as he can, and pulls. He drags Anakin back through the emptiness and when they get closer to the surface he hears Anakin cry into his mind: _Master, you’re hurting me!_

He hauls Anakin back into the real world, and this time he lets out an audible cry. He feels the Force rush past him and fill Anakin again, and he slowly begins detaching himself from Anakin’s mind.

When he opens his eyes, he finds the doctor hovering over him with a washcloth, wiping blood out from underneath his nose.

Anakin is shaking in his arms.

“You both did better than I expected,” she informs him happily.

Anakin is still lethargic, but he looks up at Obi-Wan and blinks a few times. “Master?”

“Hello, there. How do you feel?”

“Overwhelmed.”

 _Blast._ Anakin is readjusting to the feeling of, well, _feeling_ again. Meaning he'd been disconnected for a while. Probably since all of this began.

“My shields are too weak. They keep slipping down. Could you…?”

Obi-Wan gently pushes back into Anakin’s mind and put shields in place around it. He asks, “Anakin, why did you pull away from the Force?”

The boy hesitates. “It’s too dark. I felt—feel suffocated.”

Obi-Wan senses that that’s not the whole truth, but it’ll do for now.

“I’m glad you’re okay," he continues, changing the subject. "I’m glad someone I love is still fine.”

Anakin breaks off then in a sob, and Obi-Wan knows this is about Padmé. But before he can say anything, Anakin continues. “Palpatine had Padmé killed.”

“I know. I'm so sorry. I know you two were...closer than you would have liked me to believe."

“She-She and I were, we were married, Master. I loved her so much and they killed her, and they killed—”, he stops then struggling to say something else. And from the amount of grief Obi-Wan feels rolling off of him—this has to be something more than just the loss of a spouse.

“She was pregnant, Master,” he continues at last. And Obi-Wan can barely contain his shock, though he knows where this is going. “With twins. A boy and a girl. And they killed her, so they died, too, and my children. Force, Master, my babies...”

And Obi-Wan holds him while he weeps.

*       *      *       *       *

She moves through the streets of the capitol city of Kaller, trying desperately to find information on what has happened on Coruscant. She hasn’t been able to catch enough of a HoloNet report to piece together the chain of events. She ducks behind some crates so that a group of clone troopers can pass her by.

“Hey,” she hears a voice say, “this is my hiding spot. Get lost.”

She turns to face the stranger and finds it’s a Padawan.

His eyes widen. “You’re Ahsoka Tano! Skywalker’s apprentice.”

She looks down then. “I was, and you are?”

“Caleb. Caleb Dume. Master-”, his breath hitches, “Master Billaba’s student.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s…she’s dead. Our clone troops killed her. Why would they—”

She puts her hands on his shoulders and meets his eyes. “I don’t know, and I don’t think it’s just here. I think this happened everywhere. I’m trying to find out what happened to my former Master. Maybe we can help each other?”

He nods.

“Good. Now, you’re gonna need to change clothes. If they are hunting Jedi, you kinda stick out. Lucky for me—and I never thought I would say this—I left the Order, so I’m most likely not on the list. Let’s find a place to hold up, and I’ll see what I can do.”

It’s nighttime on the planet’s surface, and the alley way these crates sit in is dark, so no one notices two figures jumping up onto the rooftop of a cantina. They run across the buildings, looking for an abandoned, rundown one they might be able to stay in. Both of them are scanning their surroundings with each building they cross, each gap they jump, and the Padawan seems to find something first.

“Ahsoka, look. There’s one. It looks like an unfinished housing complex.”

They enter through an unfinished window on the top floor. While it’s not rundown, it’s certainly abandoned, so Ahsoka tells Caleb to stay put. She’ll be back with clothes for him and food.

She exits the way they came in, making the trip back the way they came, but jumping down in a different alley this time. She doesn’t have to worry about being discrete because, well, they aren’t looking for her. She finds a little shop that’s still open, and picks out clothing for a boy Caleb’s size, telling the clerk it’s for her son, and she believes it, and gives her two pieces of fruit— “Boys are hungry,” she says—with her purchase.

Under different circumstances she’d be a little offended that the shop-owner thought she looked old enough to have a son this size, but war ages you she supposed, so maybe she looks older than she thinks.

Thinking of the war reminders her of Anakin, and after Caleb’s talk about the death of Depa Billaba, she wonders if a similar fate had befallen him. But their training bond had been dissolved when she left the Order—she dissolved it, because she knew Anakin wouldn’t, and she knew he wouldn’t let go until it was gone—so she had no way of sensing if he was alright.

She lifts a datapad off an unsuspecting drunkard passed out outside of a cantina, and shoves it in her backpack before making her way back up onto a roof and back to the hideout.

Once there, she hands Caleb the clothes and tells him to change in the unfinished ‘fresher, tossing him a piece of the fruit to go with it, before sitting down and pulling out the datapad, across the top, in red letters, reads: “ _Jedi Conspiracy: How You Can Help Hunt Down the Traitors._ ”

She selects the link to another article within that one, titled: “ _Jedi Uprising Squashed._ ”

This one she reads. And when Caleb exists the fresher changed, he finds Ahsoka sitting against the wall datapad loose in her hands, tears running down her face.

“What happened?”

All she can do is hand him the article. The look on his face when he finishes it, breaks her heart all over again. 


	6. Though Still On This World of Strife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween To One and All!  
> I hope your night is filled with sweets and fun and such.  
> Please be safe out there tonight!
> 
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.

Ahsoka rises first, after a fitful night of sleep. It’s still dark out, but the time of the datapad reads 0300 hours. Sunrise on this planet isn’t horribly far off, and quietly—so as not to rouse Caleb, who had successfully cried himself to sleep the night previous—began working on rigging a system with which she could contact Master Kenobi or Master Yoda, or maybe even Anakin.

She has a comlink, yes, but she will need to wire a computer terminal to help encrypt her transmission. She can’t be sure how closely the Empire is monitoring transmissions, so the more she can encrypt and code, the better.

She leaves a message on the datapad for Caleb, in case he wakes up while she’s gone, and exits their borrowed room to search for a computer terminal. She finds one at the end of their hallway and just around the corner—it was probably left there after the construction—and begins the power cycle.

Once it comes up, she wires her comlink into the system and initiates the encryption cycle, the way she learned to at the Temple years ago. As soon as it completes she inputs Anakin’s comm frequency and gets a signal. She doesn’t have to wait long before a concerned voice picks up on the other end of the line.

_“Who are you? How did you get this frequency?”_

She tries not to panic when she hears Obi-Wan’s voice instead of Anakin’s. “Master Kenobi! This is Ahsoka Tano.”

_“Ahsoka! Thank the Force you survived. It’s good to hear from you.”_

“We’re being hunted. Or rather, this Padawan I stumbled across is. Is anyone with you? Can we meet?”

_“Steady, Ahsoka. There are others. I’m sure you have secured this line.”_

Even though he can’t see, she rolls her eyes. “Of course, Master.”

_“Good. Bring the other with you to the coordinates I’m sending you. We will be moving there within the next day or two.”_

“Thank you, Master. One more thing? Where’s Anakin? Did he make it?”

Silence. And then, _“He’ll be fine. Worry about yourself and that Padawan. May the Force be with you both.”_

And the link was severed. She receives the location and deletes any record of her previous conversation from the computer’s database. As soon as she powers down, she hears voices approaching. Clone voices.

“The witness said they entered the building on this floor. They’ll be here. Fan out.”

_Blast._

She runs down the hallway to their room and rouses Caleb, who is still sleeping on the floor.

“Caleb, Wake up! We need to move; there are troopers coming this way.”

One of the perks of being a Force-user is the ability to jump from sleep to wakefulness in an instant, which Caleb does nicely. But, by the time they get to the window, the clones shoot the door lock and come barreling through, blasters firing. Ahsoka has her lightsabers drawn in an instant—both a stark, blinding white in the darkness—and begins blocking blaster shots. And as furious as she is after the report she read the night before, she can’t bring herself to deliberately deflect them back at the clones.

Caleb is standing behind her in shock, probably due to the fact that despite her status as one who renounced the Jedi Order, she still carries lightsabers.

“Caleb,” she shouts over her shoulder, “Jump! I’ll be right behind you.”

The Padawan reaches out and Force pushes the glass until it shatters, leaping through the opening he created.

Ahsoka backs toward the opening and briefly glances down to see if Caleb made the jump. She blocks on final shot and bounds out of the window. She lands by Caleb, using the Force to cushion her fall. Powering off her sabers, they jump down off of the rooftops, opting to try and blend in on the streets.

They stay moving for hours, ducking and dodging and turning into any bar, store, or crowd that they come across. They eventually sit down at a sketchy diner on the edge of the city and order some “food” to aid them in not looking suspicious. Caleb pokes absently at the mush in front of him opting instead to take a bite out of the bread—which looks less like it could kill him—and Ahsoka laughs.

“You’d be amazed at the things I had to eat when I was training. If my Master and I were sent on any kind of diplomatic mission, eating the local food was usually required. He was better at hiding his dislike than I was.” She sobers quickly. “We need to get off this planet.”

“We’re gonna need a ship.”

“And neither of us have enough credits to pay someone off.”

“Master Billaba and I flew in over a cluster of landing platforms at the edge of the city. Maybe we can 'borrow' one from there. I think I can get us there from here.”

“Lead the way.”

Ahsoka drops some credits on the table to cover the cost of their slop and follows Caleb out of the diner. She allows the Padawan to lead the way, hoping it will provide him some distraction. Despite the circumstances, he is still a Jedi, the Force is still with him, and she wonders if she may be taking up that title again soon.

They are passing through the more crime-laden district of Plateau City. For once, she is thankful. The scum of the galaxy usually keep to themselves and don’t ask too many questions. And while they look up when the two of them walk back, the scum quickly realize they aren’t worth the effort and move on. Ahsoka knows this means there hasn’t been a bounty placed on them yet—and because of her show earlier, the Empire will be hunting _her_ now, too.

Caleb leads them around the corner of an abandoned building and points up. He jumps up first onto the rooftop and moves quickly to the crates stacked near the first of the platforms. Of the fifteen platforms that Ahsoka counts, four of them have ships and only one is unguarded. Unfortunately for them, the unguarded ship is well within the sight of a nearby Republic transport, which is undoubtedly full of clone troopers that know their faces—both their faces now, after Ahsoka’s earlier stunt.

She reaches out with the Force and knocks a stack of crates off the platform furthest away. As soon as the clones take off toward the disturbance, the two of them move toward the ship. It’s a cramped little freighter, but they have got better odds in this ship than on this planet. Ahsoka keys in the coordinates, the computer tells them they’ll be in hyperspace for a few days, which gives Master Kenobi and whoever else is with them time to get there before they do.

There is one bunk in the small cabin; Caleb offers to sleep on the floor, since he’s got a cloak to wrap up in, but Ahsoka won’t hear of it. The kid was on that planet for days fighting a battle, having to deal with the physical and emotional stress of watching his Master be shot down in front of him, and running from former friends and allies. She was on Kaller working as head mechanic at a shop, before the owner told her she might want to make herself scarce, in case the Empire was hunting her. No, she wouldn’t hear of it. The Padawan needs rest. And if she has her way—and one still lives—he’ll be seeing a mind healer as soon as she can find one.

She can tell he wants to ask questions, wants answers, but she waves him off saying, “Master Kenobi knows more than I do. Let’s wait and talk to him.”

Unsatisfied by her deflection of his barrage of questions, but content at least to wait for now, the boy retires for the night, leaving Ahsoka at the helm, alone with her thoughts and the ugly truths she’s learned over the past few days.

The Jedi Order is gone, slaughtered without honour.

Gone, leaving bodies strewn across the galaxy in unmarked graves.

Gone, and the Temple is most likely in ruins.

And she despite the fact that she hasn’t been one of them for what seems like forever, it hits her in hard in the gut all over again. She still has—had—friends at the Temple. Masters who had looked after her as a youngling. She wonders if Plo Koon survived. Shaak Ti. Tera Sinube. She understands Caleb’s feelings. She has so many questions, but she’s not sure if she wants the answers.

But there is one thought that continues to roll through her mind as she stares out of the viewport into the swirling blue of hyperspace is: All those months ago, when the Force advised her to leave the Order behind, to walk away from everything she knew, it had saved her life.

_I’m sorry. I’m sorry I was angry and bitter. I understand now._

As if on cue, she feels a warm presence wrap around her, comforting her. There is no distinctive signature on this touch, nothing that stands out, but she recognizes this as how it felt years ago, sleeping on the ground on some back-water planet in the outer rim, when the Force would remind her that it was with her.

As alone as she has felt in those first days after leaving the Order, she knows she was never once abandoned by the Force. She hopes wherever Anakin is, maybe he finally understands, too.

She can’t wait to see the look on his face when they meet again.


	7. I Hope by Thy Good Pleasure Safely to Arrive at Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The usual, unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.

To say Anakin is agitated would be an understatement. It rolled off him in waves. Normally, he would be attempting to bottle his irritation behind well-built shields, but since Obi-Wan’s episode of dragging his mind out of its self-imposed hidey-hole, he’s been having a hard time keeping his connection to the Force under control. Obi-Wan is having to mask Anakin’s signature for him, which is embarrassing enough. Then, his former Master had explained why he couldn’t move his limbs, and, well, he hadn’t taken the news of his condition well.

“On top of everything else I’ve lost, now I’m an invalid?” He had demanded.

“A temporary invalid. It should be possible to heal you.” Obi-Wan had tried to reassure.

“Yeah,” He had huffed, in his mind crossing his arms over his chest. “ _If_ we can find a healer.”

Obi-Wan had tried to reassure him that if no healer could be found, that he would do his best to be the healer Anakin needed. But Anakin, remembering Lanteeb and the ways Obi-Wan had pushed himself there, wouldn’t hear of it.

Anakin knows his anger is a defense mechanism; it’s easier to be angry than to break down and be weak again. So, he decides that he’s not going to deal with any of his issues right now. He’s going to sit and sulk like a youngling.

This, in turn, frustrates Obi-Wan who leaves to go check on Bail and Yoda as they prepare for their departure to Belsavis.

Leaving Anakin alone to continue sulking. Until that gets old after a few minutes. He knows Obi-Wan won’t leave him alone too long—he’s been hovering like a mother loth-cat over her kittens—but he thinks he has enough time to try something.

He wants to sit up, all the way up, on his own. And so he does. Or tries. While his torso has the strength to get him right-side up, he can’t get his arms and legs to cooperate in helping him get there or stay there. And his limbs are tangled in the sheets, and his body weight pitches him forward, landing him in an ungraceful lump of bedding on the floor.

The string of curses Anakin releases—both in Basic and Huttese—are enough to make any seasoned deep-space pilot blush, and are almost enough to drown out the sound of the door open. He can’t turn his body to help him see who has entered, but the longsuffering sigh reveals enough. He still doesn’t stop cursing though, until he feels Obi-Wan’s hands on him, trying to untangle his unmoving limbs. Anakin doesn’t speak again until Obi-Wan gets him propped up against the base of the bed.

“I wanted to see if I could move. At all. I guess I didn’t believe you…” he says quietly, trailing off toward the end. He lowers his head, then, and he’s not sure if it’s in shame of being one of the few Jedi left and being worthless, or if it’s in sadness of the continual blows he’s had these past few days.

“Anakin, listen to me,” he feels a hand come up under his chin, lifting his head up to meet Obi-Wan’s eyes. “You _will_ recover. I promise you. Now, let’s get you ready to leave. The sooner we get to the Temple, the sooner we’ll be able to work on you.”

*     *      *     *    *

They leave Alderaan on a freighter, in the dead of night. Anakin insists he be sat down by a viewport so that he can look out at the stars and tunnels of hyperspace. Obi-Wan had left him once more, saying he was going to ask Yoda if they’d heard from any other Jedi. Truthfully, Anakin is thankful to be left to himself. He knows his Master means well, but the last thing he wants right now is to be hovered over like he’ll break at any moment.

And, well, he might.

He shudders and sinks deeper into his blaster scorched cloak. He tells himself it’s because space is cold, but he suspects there’s more to it than that/

 _Belsavis is cold._ His mind reminds him. Right. Great. Why couldn’t they have found a Temple on a warm, tropical planet? _Maybe one like Naboo._

A pang of grief sweeps through him at the thought of Naboo and the memories of Padmé that it brought along with it. He’s on the verge of tears again when he feels a small hand on his leg. He looks down and finds a young Togruta female looking up at him.

_The Force is mocking me._

He runs a hand across his eyes and inclines his head toward her. She has tears on the brim on her eyes and is looking at him, confused. “Are you lost, Little One?”

She says nothing, but extends her hands up above her head, the universal symbol for “pick me up.”

“I can’t, Youngling.” and oh, and admitting his weakness is hard. “You’ll have to come up here.”

She eagerly crawls up into his lap and leans her head against his chest. Despite the fact that he can’t hold her, she settles quickly, seemingly comfortable. So, they sit in silence for a while, and by her lack of movement, he thinks she might have fallen asleep.

Obi-Wan chooses this moment to walk in, and when he spots the two of them, a small smile graces his face.

“Ah, I see you’ve met Seiran. I knew it would only be a matter of time.” At Anakin’s confused glare, he adds, “She’s an Empath. And you, Anakin, are a beacon in the Force.”

“She looked confused and sad when she first came in, but she didn’t say anything.”

His former Master lowers his head, “Apparently, she hasn’t spoken since it happened. For someone her age to feel all that death and pain with no shielding. It’s—”

“It’s traumatizing. I can relate.”

Briefly, Obi-Wan sets a hand on Anakin’s shoulder before changing the subject. “Speaking of young, Togruta, I have just heard from Ahsoka.”

Anakin’s heart leaps. “Ahsoka! She’s alive? Where is she? Is she okay?”

“Yes, on Kaller, and she’s fine. She’s heading our way with an orphaned Padawan. She’ll meet us on Belsavis.

 _She’s alive! She’s alive!_ And now, he knows how Obi-Wan must’ve felt upon finding him in the Temple. Now, he can’t wait to get to Belsavis. The Force has returned to him one of his family members

 _The Force gives, and the Force takes away_.

He doesn’t want to dwell on that for too long, afraid his feelings of anger and sorrow will rise back up. He’s already frustrated that he can’t get up and move around in celebration, but doesn’t want to think about that either.

So, instead he says, “Have we heard from anyone else?”

Obi-Wan leans against the wall, and Anakin can see the tiredness in his Master’s frame, like the past three years of war have finally caught up with him. Anakin wonders if he’s been healing Anakin under his nose, sending energy in as small waves as possible, so as not to be easily noticed. “Jedi Knight Roan Shryne, who has his entire battalion with him. Apparently after that whole ordeal with Fives, almost all of them had their chips removed. Master Shaak Ti who escaped the Temple. A few other Padawans. Master Plett has students with him in his enclave on Belsavis; he’s also a skilled botanist, who’ll be able to assist us in growing food. So far though, that’s all.”

“And Ahsoka and the Padawan.”

“Indeed. Master Plett has alerted us to the presence of a hoard of rather unfriendly creatures that have taken up residence in the Temple. We’ll need to clear them when we get there.”

Anakin scoffs. “I won’t be much help. I’ll just sit here with the younglings. But, here take my lightsaber, too.” He looks down embarrassed, trying to express something that he’s not quite sure how to get across. “That way it’ll still be like I’m fighting with you.”

Obi-Wan smiles because he knows exactly what Anakin can’t say, and replies. “Only if you hold onto mine until we return.”

At this, Anakin smiles. _Ah, the Concordance of Fealty. Well played, Master._

It is an old Jedi tradition, seen as a display of the highest trust between two individual Jedi. The exchange represented a serious, even sacred bond. Anakin had looked it up once, after witnessing an exchange between Masters Eeth Koth and Mace Windu. Obi-Wan had often told him that his weapon is his life, and so in this sense, it was a picture of entrusting another with one’s own life. So, they would carry each other’s weapon for a little while, until, under the Force’s direction, it was time to give it back. But Obi-Wan, ever a stickler to tradition, won’t simply exchange sabers and be done with it. They’d used each other’s weapons before; he doesn’t need to make a scene. But of course, he decides has to recite the oath.

“I entrust you, Anakin Skywalker, with something that is a product of my own hands. In giving you this lightsaber, I give you my trust.”

Anakin nods, and says the same thing back, and the little one resting on him stirs a bit before resettling, a smile breaking out across her face. Anakin wishes he could reach out his hand and take the saber, but Obi-Wan makes no mention of it, and simply clip his weapon on Anakin’s belt, and does the same with Anakin’s on his own.

Nothing more is said on the matter of the oath. And Anakin knows that really, for this battle, Obi-Wan doesn’t need him, or his lightsaber, these are just non-sentient creatures after all. But part of Anakin feels responsible for the fall of the old Temple. He feels that if he’d been allowed to go after Palpatine, maybe none of this would have happened, so he wishes he could take part in the retaking of the new Temple, to make up for what he had been unable to do before. So for now, he would go with him them in spirit, but he promises himself he will atone for his failures. Sidious _will_ pay.

He tells his Master to go and get some rest, and he offers to take Seiran back to where the younglings are lying, but Anakin insists that she’s fine where she is. He can sleep upright in a chair; he’s done it before. War room conferences can be a bore.

Obi-Wan says a good night then and leaves him with the youngling.

*      *      *       *      *      *

This is the first time in days he’s been able to get away from “Imperial Duties.” The things he’s had to do to save his life make him sick, but at least he can say with certainty that he wasn’t a part of the so called “justice” that was carried out on the Jedi Temple. No, he hadn’t been there.

He’s heard from a few others, and rumors of an entire battalion in the same boat that he’s in. Others who have stayed true to their loyalties and not turned against the beings they had fought beside for years. But as far as being able to meet with any of them, he’s had no word.

He’s got all of his things in order to get off of Coruscant and out of the Empire’s grasp. His few belongings are packed, he’s traded his armour for civilian clothes, and he’s acquired a ship. Now all he needs is a place to go. He knows it’s risky, but he decided to try and make contact with one of the only people still alive that he knows he can trust.

Well, he hopes she’s still alive.

On a secure channel, he keys in her comm frequency and prays she’ll pick up. He doesn’t have much time before the Empire finds out he’s gone AWOL.

“This is Rex calling Commander Ahsoka Tano. Commander. please respond.”

  


	8. Brother we are treading where the saints have trod

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Usual unbeta'd mess.  
> Happy Thanksgiving to all my American fellows! Eat good food and watch some football!

Obi-Wan wishes they had thermal wear for this venture, because while he and Yoda are trained with techniques to circumvent the blistering cold, most of the Padawans are not. This would be a day of challenge for the younger Jedi.

The younglings remain on the ship, most asleep, and as soon as the snowstorm lessens a little the elder Jedi lead the students out into the icy planet.

The moment they step off the ship, the cold steals Obi-Wan’s breath away. The wind is throwing the ice and snow at him like tiny daggers, and his vision is non-existent. Lucky for him, he doesn’t need his eyes to see. It takes him a moment to root himself in the Force and its warmth before he can turn and assist the Padawans.

“Relax, Young Ones. Reach into the Force. Let it return your breath and warm you.”

One by one the students center themselves and look back at their elder, waiting for instructions. Obi-Wan is the first to draw his saber, holding it forward as light in this storm. The lightsaber sizzles and hums as the ice crystals hit the blade. They tread carefully down the hill they landed on into a valley below. It’s an oddly flat piece of land in between four hills, and as soon as Obi-Wan’s feet hit the snow, he can sense it. The Temple is below them. Behind him a Padawan gasps. She too can sense it.

_Perceptive, Young One._

 Master Yoda walks past the group to the hill the farthest from them towards an old, stone door nestled in the side of the hill. The rest of the group follows, and when they get closer, Obi-Wan notices an inscription above the door in a language he doesn’t recognize. He’ll have to look into that at some point.

The corner of his eye catches Master Yoda placing his hand on the center of the stone, and he feels a surge in the Force. The door begins to slowly rumble open to reveal a long, dark hallway.

When the dust settles and the rumbling ceases, there is an eerie silence surrounding the group. It doesn’t last long before screeching and squealing echoes out from the inner chambers of the Temple, and there is a collective realization hanging between them,

 _The creatures have stirred._  

The Jedi move in, all had received specific instructions on where to strike the creatures, insuring they wouldn’t taint the animals’ meat. Having to clear the Temple of an edible food source seems to be a small blessing from the Force at large.

Obi-Wan takes three of the students with him; Master Yoda takes the other four. They split up, following the holomap they have been given thanks to Yoda’s digging. This Temple is an intricate weaving of hallways, open spaces, and rooms, and Obi-Wan foresees little, lost younglings lingering in some of these crevices.

They find their first group of the unfriendly Flauschigen and, by the Force, they’re large. Covered in fur from head to foot, they have spikes around their faces and on their limbs that are flowing with a neurotoxin that is unforgiving to humanoid biology. The Jedi had been informed to avoid striking there or the toxin would release into the animal’s bloodstream and taint the meat.

The leader of this pack rears up her head, barring her fangs as a deterrent, the others following suit. The animals begin slowly moving forward, watching their enemies intently, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Obi-Wan whispers an order for the students to ignite their sabers and take defensive positions.

“Remember, don’t strike its horns, try to get at the back or underbelly. Stand firm.”

The sound of his voice seems to be the final agitation these creatures need and the largest one leaps over the pack leader and straight for the Jedi Master. Unfortunately for the flauschigen, that leap leaves its underside exposed for attack, and Obi-Wan trusts his lightsaber up into the pale fur, striking deep into its heart. Removing his weapon, the creature slumps to the ground, enraging its pack members and inciting them to attack all at once.

One by one the animals fall, and the group moves further into the Temple. They can hear the pained screeches of the others falling to the Jedi across the caverns from them, and Obi-Wan braces himself for the inevitable questions of why these creatures had to die.

 _If all things are connected to the Living Force_ , he’s sure some will ask, _then why didn’t we try to force them out instead of slaughtering them?_

It’s these kinds of questions that Obi-Wan has no real answer to, and as he strikes down another creature, he wonders how many of their principals they will have to bend in the coming months and years to survive under the Empire. Anakin had always believed the Jedi Order would never have done what it would have taken to end the war, and now that it’s over, Obi-Wan is fairly certain he agrees with him.

He hears a scream from behind him—this one not from the flauschigens—and sees a Padawan flat on the ground, with his attack standing over him. The boy can’t seem to get his lightsaber up, due to the creature’s foot pressing his wrist into the ground. He’s struggling and panicking so much that he doesn’t seem to realize he’s only aggravating the situation.

Obi-Wan flings out a hand and lifts the animal up off of the boy and pulls it toward his blade, shoving it up through its head. When he throws it down, he notices he’s nicked a horn. Sighing, he marks the beast with an “x” with his saber, signaling the animal as tainted.

 _What a waste._ He turns to pull the boy to his feet. “Are you alright?” But before the boy can respond, he notices a cut on his cheek. “You’ve been cut, Young One.”

The boy looks down defeated. With no experienced healer and limited medical supplies, when the poison finally take effect in his, the odds of his survival are not good. Obi-Wan places a hand on his shoulder, and kneels down to his height.

“I want you to find a place to hide and sit there until we’ve finished.”

“I can fight—“

“You’ll increase the rate that it spreads. You need to slow your heart rate and move as little as possible. You have your comlink?” At the boy’s hesitant nod, he continues. “Good. Turn your location on so that I can find you once all this is over.”

And the boy runs back to an area they’ve previously cleared, and Obi-Wan moves on to rejoin the fight.

It takes a little while longer for them to clear the Temple of the last few creatures and longer still for them to re-sweep the area. Master Yoda must have found the system that provided power to the Temple in antiquity, and he has turned it back on, illuminating its walls and rooms in a soft glow. Content that all but the injured boy have regrouped in the first large room in the center of the Temple, Obi-Wan leaves to follow the locator beacon provided by the Padawan.

He calls out to him over the comlink, and receives no answer. He breaks into a run then, and when he reaches the point that the signal is strongest, begins searching for a sign of life in the Force. He finds the boy, lying passed out in the arms of the statue of one of the Masters that lines this hallway. Cradling him with the Force, he lowers the boy into his arms and delivers him to Master Yoda.

The diminutive Master places a hand on his forehead and sighs deeply. “Spreading the toxin is. Strong, the boy is, but strong enough to fight this on his own, he is not.”

“I might be able to help.” A Twi-Lekk Padawan steps forward, absently tugging on the tip of her lekku. “I was training as a healer in the Temple before…before everything happened.”

“Let’s get him back to the ship and on some support, and we’ll see what we can do.”

“Move in equipment and supplies tomorrow, we will. For now, secure our food source we must, so that these creatures will not have died in vain.” He looks up at Obi-Wan who is still holding the boy. “Return him to the ship; with you, take the healer. Help your Padawan, she might be able to.”

“As you say, Master.” He bows as much as possible, and motions for the girl to follow him out of their new home, leaving the other five students and Master Yoda to clean up the mess.

*   *   *   *   *   *

_He is standing on a dark, black metal floor. There is a throne across the expanse from him, sitting in the middle of an elevated platform, its size and shape imposing. He can’t see the occupant though, as he is faced with the back of the grandiose chair, leaving its owner to stare out into the distant stars. On either side of the throne stand two individuals, human, one male, one female._

_He can’t make out their faces, but he feels like he knows them somehow. They step off the platform and toward him, each igniting a double-bladed lightsaber, sending crimson red shadows onto the floor. The design of the hilt strikes him as odd; it’s circular with the handle in the middle. This isn’t what unnerves him most. What’s concerning him is the feeling of the Force in the room around him. He’s cold—frigid—but most of it seems to be coming from whomever is occupying the seat at the back of the room._

_But these two, while they are incredibly strong in the Force—and briefly he wonders if this is how he feels to other people—don’t feel like Sith. The Dark Side is with them, that much is clear, but there is something about them he just can’t put his finger on._

_They move closer, and he hears the sound of a lightsaber igniting next to him. It is only now that he recognizes the overwhelmingly familiar presence standing beside him. He looks over to see his former Master, standing tall and at the ready, ever a beacon of the Light Side, but his visage is not the one that comes to Anakin’s mind when he thinks of him. His Master is older now, the soft red of his hair and beard now mostly overtaken by grey and white. The blue light from his saber casts onto his features, and he looks incredibly sad. Though, why, Anakin cannot say._

_The two ahead of them continue advancing, slowly, like nexu stalking their prey. They draw closer and closer, and Anakin feels dread pooling in the pit of his stomach. He blinks once and the male is standing in front of Obi-Wan, and, Force, he can’t be older than fifteen. He looks back to his attacker, only to be met with the female half of the duo._

_He sees her face, and it takes his breath away._

_He sees her face and sees so much of Padmé in her that it hurts him._

He sees her face when he wakes up screaming, begging the Force to tell him what this means.


	9. We'll be with them longer than we were without

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All mistakes are mine. Hurrah for reunions! Thank you Karen Miller and Gambit Siege for helping me describe Force healing.

They set the boy down on his sleep pallet, that being the only place they had; there was no medical bay or bed to place him on. Dira—the young Twi-Lek—moved as quickly as she could to get him laid down and settled. She kneels beside him, and places one hand on his forehead.

“Master Kenobi,” she says with her eyes closed, “There is a small bag underneath the pillow on my pallet. Inside there is a healing crystal. Could you get it?”

He finds the small bag and inside of it is a small green crystal, humming with the Force. It reminds him of the river stone Qui-Gon had given him, years ago. But he’s impressed that a student this young would have one.

“Where did you get this, Dira?”

“My Master gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday,” she takes it from him, closing it between both hands. Obi-Wan feels a pulse in the Force, and the crystal begins to glow. She reaches out and places one hand on his forehead, still clutching the crystal in her other hand.

“The toxin is spreading fast. I’m going to need some help to stop its spread before I can work on healing his limbs.”

He kneels down next to her. “What can I do?”

Wordlessly, she places the crystal over his chest, and Obi-Wan can feel her pulling the Force into her, and so he places a hand on her shoulder, and stretches the other out over the boy. He and Dira begin to press their will on his poison ridden body. There is a surge in the Force, and the crystal begins glowing brightly. Having a knowledgeable healer next to him is helpful. He is never really sure what he does when he heals, but he’s got some kind of a knack for it. Dira, though, can move their energies directly toward the issues, and he loses track of time in the midst of the process.

They have spent hours, pouring all the energy they can muster into healing the Padawan; The boy is stable, the sweat on his brow has lessened, and he rolled up onto his side. The paralysis has been pushed back, the poison defeated. Dira is exhausted, and has passed out asleep, leaning on his shoulder. Obi-Wan struggles to his feet, muscles aching, and picks her up and takes her to her sleep pallet. He extracts the crystal from her hands and places it back in her little bag.

Once she’s settled, Obi-Wan can go into the galley and find the necessary items for tea. He sits on a bench rather ungracefully, gravity seeming to drag him down, and he clutches the steaming mug, sipping slowly. Oh, he’s regretting not getting some kind of training from Master Che while she was still alive. He hasn’t done this kind of healing since Lanteeb, nearly three years ago now, and he remembers why. The way this application of the Force makes him ache, feeling someone else’s pain as his own. It drains him. He’s going to need to find some kind of literature before he tries to help Anakin. With any luck, there will be some in the Temple.

He sighs and sets his cups down on the table. He unclips Anakin’s lightsaber from his belt. He has honestly forgotten that he hasn’t been using his own. For years he’s been a little saddened that Anakin hadn’t based his design off of his, as was custom, but during the war, he’d had opportunity to use his apprentice’s weapon. It was then he’d noticed that while the outside is different, the inner mechanisms and layout are similar to his. The saber had a familiar hum in his hand, reminiscent of his own. His borrowed blade on Geonosis had had an unnatural feeling, that of using a foreign saber. But Anakin’s always felt…natural.

_He’s got to get back on his feet._

He stands to check in on his injured friend, hearing every joint in his back crack as he does so. His aching body is demanding rest, and the idea of his sleep pallet is quite appealing. But as soon as he gets half-way through the door, his comm sound. He audibly sighs.

“Kenobi.”

_“Master Kenobi, it’s cold out here. Care to let us in?”_

Force, he’d been so absorbed in healing he hadn’t noticed other Jedi entering the system. “I’ll be right there, Ahsoka.”

Many of the younglings are excited then the ramp lowers, surely expecting Master Yoda and the others, but a few of them look up wide-eyed when they see Ahsoka coming up the ramp. As soon as she reaches the top the hugs her “grandmaster” tightly.

It’s unorthodox, but he reminds himself that she’s no longer a Jedi. So, returning the hug he says, “It’s good to see you again, Ahsoka.”

She releases him and the Padawan walks forward and bows low. “Master Kenobi. My name is Caleb Dume.”

“Master Billaba’s student, yes?”

“Yes, Master.” His voice wavers a bit.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Padawan.” He looked up at Ahsoka. “Both of you are welcome to anything we have to eat, and there are blankets in the hold when you get tired. But, for now, there is someone who is eager to see you, Ahsoka.”

At her enthusiastic nod, he leads her to the small cabin, dropping Caleb off at the galley on the way. When they walk in, they find Anakin asleep. Obi-Wan gently rouses him. He blinks, disoriented, before looking up to his Master.

“There is someone here who would like to see you.”

He steps out of the way, allowing Ahsoka to walk over to Anakin’s side. And his face, when he sees her, brings Obi-Wan dangerously close to tears.

She leans over and hugs him, too, tighter than before, and Obi-Wan hears him mumble, “I’d return it if I could.”

She lets him go after a bit, and props herself up on a chair. Obi-Wan assists Anakin in getting to a sitting position, while Ahsoka asks, “Okay. From the beginning. What happened?”

Obi-Wan is about to answer, but Anakin must have noticed he is saying a little on his feet, because he cuts him off with a scalding what-did-you-do-to-yourself look, and says, “We’ll talk about it later. Tell me what you’ve been up to, so Obi-Wan can rest.”

And now that Anakin has mentioned it, Ahsoka looks over at him concerned.”

He tries to recover gracefully, before Ahsoka can ask any questions. “Thank you, Anakin. It’s been a long day.”

He lies down on his sleep pallet, and the tiredness in his bones settles and seems to anchor him to the floor. He is lulled to sleep by the sounds of their conversation, and hearing them laugh together brings him peace.

 *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Anakin enjoys listening to her talk. Force, she’s grown so much since she left the Order. He notices she still carries her lightsabers, but he can since a difference in them now. There is a grease stain on the edge of her tunic, and he’s ever so proud of her chosen profession—so she _had_ been listening. In light of recent events, he’s relieved that she got out of the Order and found a way to lay low.

They both jump when her comm sounds, interrupting her story about a particularly nasty speeder owner she dealt with a few weeks ago.

She answers cautiously. “Hello?”

_“Commander, finally. I’ve been trying to reach you for days.”_

“Rex?!” she and her master ask in unison.

_“I’ve been on the run from the Empire since the Order came down.”_

“I’m sorry, Rex. I’ve been in hyperspace for a few days. What happened? Can you meet us? We’re—”

“Whoa!” Anakin cuts her off.

“What?” She demands, but whispering. “It’s Rex!”

“And? Ahsoka, I know you’ve been gone for a while, but—”

_“General, with all due respect, I can hear you arguing. I had my chip removed after Fives. Sir, I really need a place to be.”_

Anakin sighs and glances over at Obi-Wan, who is soundly asleep. _I am going to be in so much trouble._ “We’re on Belsaavis. I’ll send you our exact location when you get close.”

_“Thank you, Sir. You won’t regret it.”_

After the connection is severed, Anakin sighs. “He’s not going to be happy with me.”

“We’ll talk him down, Master.” And he smiles when the old honourific slips out. “We could just tell him he _found_ us.”

“You and I both know he’ll see right through it.” He laughs and then sobers. “I’ve missed you, Ahsoka. I—”

He feels his breath be taken away, his chest hurts, and it feels like there is lightning in his body. He still can’t move anything though.

Ahsoka is leaning over him, “Anakin?”

“Get-get Obi-Wan.”  
But Obi-Wan is already up, and, _stang_ , he knows exactly what his former Master is going to try to do. His hands are on him in an instant, and Anakin can sense his exhaustion. The man is drained. He is going to _hurt_ himself.

“Ahsoka, I need your help.”

“Master, no,” and he tries his best to block Obi-Wan’s probing energy.

“Don’t fight me, Anakin. You’ll make this harder.”

And, really, Anakin isn’t strong enough to fight him, not for long, and, _Force,_ his chest hurts. He looks up to see Ahsoka standing next to Obi-Wan, hand on his arm, and as he feels the Force grow around him, he sees both their brows crease in frustration. Then a gentle warmth fills him, and his body beings to relax. His heart still hurts, though, and he feels Obi-Wan’s presence center around his heart. He can hear him groan and then there’s another massive wave of healing Force, before his chest relaxes and he can breathe easy again.

Obi-Wan collapses backward, Ahsoka moves quickly, lowering him gently to the floor. His whole body is trembling.

“Damn it, Obi-Wan. You—“

“Master,” Ahsoka shakes her head. “Don’t.”

Anakin looks back down at his Master and decides she’s probably right. He looks hollowed, spent, weak. He reaches out with the Force and tries to return some strength to him, but the man shakes his head.

“No, Anakin,” he whispers, “I’ll be fine. I just need to rest.”

Ahsoka helps lay him down, and all Anakin can do is watch him helplessly. They need to have a serious discussion about this, because Anakin is not going to let him kill himself trying to heal him. There aren’t enough of them left. He and the Order need him alive.

Obi-Wan seems to have withdrawn entirely into the Force, falling into a self-imposed trance. Ahsoka seems satisfied that he’s resting. She gets up and sits next to Anakin on his bed.

“He’s relatively uninjured.” She looks down for a moment, and quietly asks again. “Master, what happened? What happened to you?”

He sighs deeply, telling her everything. And when he’s finished, they’re both in tears. She wraps her arms around him again and leans her head on his chest.

“We’ll get through this, Master. We _will_.”

So everyone keeps saying, but Anakin is finding it harder and harder to believe.  


	10. For lo!, the days are hastening on

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.  
> Finals are once again complete.  
> Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and Happy New Year to all!

Sidious is furious. It has been two weeks since Skywalker’s disappearance, and he has gained _nothing_. No whereabouts, no word, no rumors. Absently, he hears the sound of his guards disposing of the now-dead messenger that brought him this news. He walks to the large window, looking out into the Coruscanti night. He controls all of this. Everything. Every resource is at his fingertips. So why can’t he _find_ him.

He can’t sense the boy at all, which can only mean one thing.

_Kenobi._

The irritating Jedi Master must be masking Anakin’s signature. It has been problematic before during the war, when either they melded in Battle Mediation or for other reasons, or when Kenobi was hiding an injured Skywalker from Dooku’s probe. And Sidious must admit, Kenobi, has a talent for it, managing to combine his and Skywalker’s signatures until they were unrecognizable.

Accepting that there is no way he’ll be able to track him like this, the Sith Lord changes direction. He pulls up files on his computer on a few of the biochemical weapons developed by Lok Durd during the Clone Wars. The smarmy Neimoidian could still be useful, had he not been killed on Mustafar. He had created a few particularly nasty weapons which could easily be put into production. At least until Sidious’ superweapon could be completed.

He picks out one of the most horrid from the list, one that slowly dissolves organic material until it is a puddle on the ground, and orders it into production.

Sidious is tired of playing games. It is time to flush them out.

*  *   *   *  *   *   *

Obi-Wan is ever so grateful when the first supply drop comes in. Bail is always so willing to help; at least there are a few good politicians left in the galaxy. He, Rex, Ahsoka, and the older students trudge over the hills, through the snow, to retrieve the boxes and bring them into the Temple—despite Anakin’s protests that perhaps Obi-Wan should continue to rest—while Master Yoda has gone to reopen the door to the Temple.

They position the boxes around the walls of the grand, circular expanse situated just beyond the entryway. Seeing it again now, it reminds him of the pictures he’s seen of the ancient Temple on Tython.

Cracking open the crates, they find food, medical supplies, and other necessities. In one marked with “plant life”, they find pots of bioluminescent moss which can help light the darker pathways and rooms until they can get the old systems back online.

And armed with their boxes of supplies they get to work. The younglings help Master Yoda organize the food and medical supplies so that they can be easily moved later. There is a river-like system of water that runs throughout the Temple. Using its water, they direct it onto the walls, banners, floors, and stone carvings, washing away the dirt and grime and filth that has piled up for centuries. Part of this water must be snowmelt, explaining its bitter cold temperature, and the rest of it must be filtered somehow. Obi-Wan wonders how many secrets are tucked away within the walls of this Temple. The Jedi are nothing if not resourceful. If they built a temple in a cave system, he is certain they were smart about it.

The younglings get settled in to rooms of their own, several of them choosing to live together much as they did on Coruscant. Obi-Wan picks one of the rooms that backs up to one of the waterfalls that run along the stream, laying out two pallets—one for Anakin, one for himself. It is a little warmer here in the caverns than outside, but still, he feels he might have to find a coat or extra blanket for his former student. He foresees many complaints from the boy thanks to his desert blood.

Ahsoka and Rex bring him in once they have settled, all the while Anakin mumbling about the ice outside and “Why couldn’t there have been one on Jakku?”

Obi-Wan informs the two of them that they are more than welcome to choose rooms and settle in if they wish. He gets Anakin settled and fed, both of them sitting in silence in their new home. And despite the fact that this place resonates with the Force, it still feels…strange. The Temple on Coruscant was vibrant and alive, not only with the Force itself, but with the lives of those within it, and this Temple feels empty. There are not enough lives inside to make it sing. Which is good, he supposes, it will keep them off the Empire’s radar.

He feels Anakin’s mood change again—this business of having to mask his signature since Anakin is not quite in complete control of his connection again has meant they’ve had to stay melded for an extended period of time—and so he decides that now is as good a time as any to ask a question he’s been meaning to.

“Anakin,” he begins softly, carefully deciding how he wants to approach this. If Anakin thinks it’s about his episode last night, he will shut down immediately. “I felt…distress…from you while we were clearing the Temple. Has something happened?”

He sees something flash across the younger man’s face, as if he can’t decide whether or not he wants to avoid the question or just come out with it.

_Don’t lie to me, Anakin. It doesn’t work. Especially not now._

“I had a nightmare…or a vision? Maybe? I can’t tell. But I saw the two of us, in the throne room—Palpatine’s throne room—and you were _old_ —”

“Yes, Anakin, that does happen—”

“And there were two…well, they weren’t quite Sith, but definitely Dark Side users. A boy and a girl. The boy had sandy, blond hair, like mine. You were facing him, and,” his voice breaks a little, and Obi-Wan knows where this is going, so he moves to sit next to him. “The girl faced me. And, Master, she was the spitting image of Padmé.” He looks at him then, and he looks every bit the twenty-three years that he is. “Could it be? That they might have survived and the Force is warning me and _he_ has them, and—”

“Anakin. No.” And with those two words, he silences Anakin’s frantic rambling. “You saw what happened. Do you want to torture yourself with what-ifs and maybes? I know you want more than anything for them to be alive, and if this is persistent, and we can be certain, I will help you find them in any way that I can. But for right now, you need to focus your mind and energies on healing.”

“You’re wrong, Master.” He says, dipping his head to rest on his Master’s shoulder. “I would rather them be dead, than in his hands.”

Before he can answer, his comm sounds. “ _Kenobi._ ”

“Master Kenobi, another Jedi has made contact. And he’s not alone.”

He looks back at Anakin, who is trying to recollect himself. “You should go, Master.” He says sadly.

“This conversation isn’t over, Little One.” And he leans the boy down onto his pallet, limbs still limp and useless, covering him with the extra blanket. “Get some rest.”

“All I can do is rest.”

*    *    *   *   *   *  *

Cin Drallig stands before them engulfed in the blue of a hologram. He looks exhausted but relieved to see both Obi-Wan and Yoda standing before him. He inclines his head respectfully when Obi-Wan enters the range of the camera.

Cin Drallig taught him how to wield a lightsaber, and despite his status as a Council member, Obi-Wan always feels that he should be the one bowing to _him_.

_“Master Kenobi, it’s good to see you alive.”_

“You as well, Master Drallig.”

“ _It has been a wild couple of days. I have a group of fifteen with me that managed to escape the Temple. Master Shaak Ti is among them.”_

Obi-Wan breathes a sigh of relief. One more Councilor alive.

“Heard from Master Kota as well, have we. En route he is, with some of his men.”

He bites his tongue at the mention of Kota. That man have never tried to hide his distrust of clone troopers, and he is sure they’ll hear more of it when he lands. He decides that he will have to have a small discussion with him, on how he is to treat Rex and speak of his brothers. “We’ll send you our coordinates. I look forward to seeing all of you. May the Force be with you.”

But regardless of this new development, his heart leaps joyfully in his chest. Fifteen more. _Fifteen_ more. Maybe their losses weren’t as bad as they thought.

 _No._ His mind whispers. _You’ve been to the Temple. You’ve seen._

“Organize a list, perhaps we should, of those who are alive and with us.”

“And perhaps another for those we know we have lost.”

He would like to perform some type of ceremony for the fallen. Wishes to honour their sacrifice. He knows that the list of dead will continue to grow the longer it takes to find them. He reaches for one of the datapads that were given to them by Bail and begins a file. He puts the names of Council members at the top of the column titled “Alive”, followed by the names of Knights and students. He waits a moment before moving Anakin’s name up to the top. After all, he was on the Council before the Order fell. Next he starts a column for the killed in action, and for this one, he has to speak with the Padawans about their Masters and the younglings about their crèche leaders.

He feels awfully about the memories he’s having to drag to the surface, some of them have witnessed their Masters falling in front of them, so he assures them that if anyone would understand what they are going through, it is him.

After speaking with Dira, he finalizes his list for the time being. He’s on his way to return to Anakin when he spots Rex sitting up near one of the flatter pools of water. The man sits alone, skipping rocks across the surface of the water. His boots are off, and his feet are hanging down into the pool. Obi-Wan senses his turmoil and walks up behind him. Rex does not turn around.

“General, I-I think I should leave.”

Obi-Wan sits down on his left side, picking up a rock and skipping it out next to his. “There is nowhere else for you to go.”

The clone lets out a long hard sigh. He takes a few deep breaths for a moment, but when he finally speaks, his voice still wavers. “I can’t bear the looks, Sir. They look at me like I could attack them at any moment, and that little Togruta girl is terrified of me.”

“They’ve had a traumatic experience, Rex. But they have no quarrel with you personally. Show them that. Show them that you are different.”

Rex looks down again then, wrestling with something. When he looks up again, there is a tear on his cheek. “But that’s just it, Sir. If I hadn’t removed my chip…I would have been exactly like them. And I wonder now, about my brothers, if they truly believe that what they did was right. I wonder how many of them hate themselves because they were forced to do something they would have never done on their own.”

Obi-Wan thinks of Cody. Did he regret it? Now?

“And, Sir, I want you to know that I am proud to continue fighting alongside all of you if it comes to that. But those are my brothers I’ll be killing. So, if I hesitate, if I can’t pull the trigger, please, don’t think any less of me.”

“I can promise you that. I have a feeling we are going to need you, Rex. And I’ve been meaning to ask. Do you know of any others who were with you when you and Anakin found Fives that may have removed theirs as well?”

Rex thinks for a minute and nods. “I can think of two right off hand. Gregor and Wolfe. Would you like me to get in contact with them?”

“Not from here. But the next time we need to make a supply run, I may have you try then.”

Obi-Wan stands then. “Rex, it will become easier. For now, go down. Find Ahsoka, talk to her. But don’t isolate yourself. We’re all facing tremendous loss, and that may be what bonds us in the coming days.”

*  *  *  *   *   *   *

Anakin feels his Master’s presence brushing the edges of his consciousness. He can sense the older man’s exhaustion—that sleep last night was not enough to counteract the energy he’d used—and he can feel the protest in his body. But regardless of his Master’s depleted energy reserves, still the older man is attempting to flood him with the Healing Force.

It is a sign of how much he has used and far he has drifted, that he visibly jumps when Anakin begins to speak. “You can’t keep doing this to yourself, Master.”

“I will do what I must, Anakin.” His Master recedes a little then, satisfied for now with what he had accomplished. “Until I am satisfied that you are not at death’s door, I will continue. It is no use for you to tell me otherwise.”

 _Stubborn barve._ Anakin fears for him. Because he doesn’t know when to quit. Not really. He’ll go and go and go until he can’t go anymore. “I don’t want you to kill yourself. My life isn’t more important than yours.”

Obi-Wan ignores him and stretches out a hand, laying it on his forehead. As he sends his perception through the him again he retorts, “To me it is.”

And…for Obi-Wan to actually admit that, _out loud_ , well, Anakin doesn’t fight him, and allows his mentor’s presence to flow through him. “I just…after Padmé and…my—our—babies, I just don’t want to lose you, too.”

He removes his hand then, but not his signature from Anakin—it never really leaves, he has them melded _constantly_ in order to hide Anakin’s signature from Palpatine—and meets his eyes with a look more serious than he’s seen in a long time.

“I appreciate that. But listen to me, Anakin Skywalker, and listen well.” It’s then Anakin notices that Obi-Wan’s hand is resting on the hilt of _his_ lightsaber where it still rests on his belt. “If you have ever loved me at all, you will not make me be the one to bury you. I will not be the one who puts you up on that pyre, and watches as you burn away.” And he stops then, looking away, trying to keep his composure, and Anakin swears he can see fire dancing in his eyes. “And so, if I must lose my life to avoid that, then so be it. And you will not prevent me.”

Which was the closest he has ever gotten to an “I love you” from the man who may as well be his father, and so he doesn’t push the issue. As hard as it is to have lost his children—who he never even got to meet—he cannot imagine the pain his Master would bear.

 _I love you so much. But I_ hate _you for having put me in this position. Damn you._

Obi-Wan smiles then. “We’re melded Anakin. Directing thoughts towards me guarantees that I will hear them.” Before Anakin can recover he says. “Now, back to sleep. I have a feeling…something is about to happen.”

Anakin watches him lie down next to him. “Whatever it is, we’ll be ready.”

Thankful for the proximity, Anakin closes his eyes then and falls asleep to the soothing pulse of Obi-Wan’s presence. But before he drifts away he feels it, too. The Dark is stirring. Something is coming.


	11. We'll take a cup o' kindness yet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year All! (I'm a bit early, but I'll be out with friends and family in the coming days so...)  
> Unbeta'd. Pardon the mess.  
> Lyric title doesn't really make sense this time...but it's from Auld Land Syne so...

Obi-Wan is overjoyed to have Shaak Ti among them. Not only is she a Councilor, she is a _Consular_ , and one who has had immense healing training. Anakin’s chances are looking up.

Shaak Ti has a presence about her. Her signature is a stalwart pillar of calm in the Force, and it seems to permeate whatever room she is in. She is centered, unshakeable, and disciplined. She is trained as a Consular, but she uses a lightsaber as well as a Guardian. And Obi-Wan feels honoured to serve on the Council with her.

She finishes her initial inspection of Anakin, and she doesn’t look happy. “You’ve gotten yourself into a gundark nest, Skywalker.” She closes her eyes again, and Obi-Wan feels her reach out once more. “You have the most severe nerve damage I’ve ever seen in a living being. Your heart is stronger now, thanks in no small part to your Master. But I still don’t know if we’re going to be able to completely reverse it.”

Anakin looks disheartened again, and Obi-Wan feels his heart drop as well. The boy wants to much to get back into the fight that every set back is like another electrostaff blow to the chest.

“Master Kenobi, would you and Dira aid me in this?”

“What would you have us do?” Obi-Wan asking kneeling next to Anakin on one side, Shaak Ti and Dira on the other.

“Dira has some training in this, and she has a crystal with her. She will assist me in the healing process. You are here to monitor and anchor Anakin so that he doesn’t lose himself with the two of us romping around. We would normally have another healer in your position, but he knows you, and you have some skill for this work, untrained through you may be.”

Anakin looks incredibly uncomfortable. He is nervous and scared, and Obi-Wan can tell that he is trying hard to avoid getting his hopes up.

“Breathe deep, Anakin. This may be the first of many.”

He lifts up Anakin’s hand and holds it to his chest. “Match my breathing, Anakin. Will your heart to calm.” He begins to obey, slowly but surely getting himself under control. Obi-Wan reaches across their bond and begins deepening their almost constant meld, and Anakin relinquishes control, allowing Obi-Wan to completely overwhelm him. The older Jedi knows that this is what Anakin hates about Force healing—that the most powerful procedures must be done with complete surrendered control. He hopes that having a familiar presence as the anchor will be soothing.

And he feels Shaak Ti and Dira entering in. Anakin tenses physically, and he feels his mind jolt, but for this initial invasion, a simple wave a calm is enough to sill his movements, allowing the healer and apprentice to move in. He knows that as they push deeper, it will take more and more to still him.

The first thing he feels addressed is the younger Jedi’s heart. Shaak Ti takes care of this mostly on her own, knitting tissues back together and using the Force to stimulate the nodes back into a proper rhythm. He can feel Anakin’s exuberant relief at the repair of his heart. The relief fades though when she moves to his spine and upper limbs and extremities. Obi-Wan feels a shift in the Force, and through closed eyelids he sees the bright, green pulse of a healing crystal. There is warmth and then—

Anakin’s back arches as pain shoots through his upper body. Obi-Wan feels it too, and _Blast_ ¸ it hurts worse than anything he’s felt in a long time. He hears Shaak Ti groan in frustration beside him. She pushes in further, but Anakin is beginning to push back, his instincts kicking in attempting to expel the source of his agony. Obi-Wan hears Dira fly back across the room into the wall opposite her, Anakin having successfully expelled her, mind and body, from him. Shaak Ti is resilient though, and she remains unshaken sending more of the Force into him in waves she begins the delicate task of healing nerves. Obi-Wan is struggling to keep Anakin’s power under control.

_Don’t fight her, Anakin._

The only response he gets is one of despair and pure, raw terror.

_Surrender, Padawan._ He exerts more of his will over the boy, all but forcing him into submission. Slowly, reluctantly, Anakin relents, just wishing for the whole ideal to be over. He begins to feel the pain lessen, as Shaak Ti’s touches become more comforting than purpose driven. She detaches herself slowly.

Both of them slump down on the wall behind directly behind them. Shaak Ti has sweat on her brow, and Obi-Wan knows that as drained as he feels, it is nothing compared to what she is experiencing. He glances down to where Anakin lay beside him, and notices that he’s still breathing heavily. He absently begins running his fingers through the boy’s hair to calm him. The room is silent other than the sounds of laboured breathing and that of the water falling into the pool outside of the chambers.

He looks down to where Anakin’s hand is clutching the fabric of his shirt, and he’s about to tell the boy to let go when he realizes.

“Anakin. Anakin, _look_!”

He sees the boy look up at him, and then follows his gaze downward to his hand. Clutching at the fabric at his Master’s chest.

And then realization dawns. And the look on Anakin’s face brings tears to his eyes. The boy relaxes and then grips again, relaxes and grips again and even though it’s the smallest of movements, Anakin’s joy radiates in the Force, seemingly warming this entire planet inside and out. Experimentally, he releases his grip and lowers his arm, and then picks it back up again, returning to its place on Obi-Wan’s chest. The movement seems to have taken a lot, because he leans back again, exhausted.

“It’s going to take a little while, Skywalker. You’ll most likely need to relearn fine motor skills and the like. We’re going to need another session for your lower half though.”

He’s overjoyed, he’s ecstatic, he’s…spent, and it doesn’t take him long before he falls asleep. Obi-Wan moves from his side, walking over to where Shaak Ti is kneeling by Dira’s side. She’s sitting up now, looking up at the Togrutan Councilor with confusion in her eyes.

“I apologize for my Padawan’s behaviour, Young One. He can be…quite forceful when things aren’t going his way.”

“I understand, Master. It isn’t the first time.”

Obi-Wan helps Dira to her feet, taking her back down to her quarters below. He thanks the young healer again for her help.

“Your Master would be very proud, Dira.”

She looks up at him and smiles softly, remembering. “Yes. He would.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Roan Shryne lands three standard days later. With two Venator class Star-Destroyers and an entire battalion of clone troopers. The three Jedi Council members are surprised at the sight of the clones. Shryne explains that he became slightly paranoid after rumors of the event with Fives spread, and so he used the Force to deactivate the chips in their minds without their knowledge. But Shryne has never really been conventional, and so none of them are surprised. He still feels a little guilty for sneaking around as he did, but his troops assure him that he is more than forgiven.

Kota gives an incredible snort of disapproval when the clones disembark. The minute they walk inside Ahsoka meets Kota in the hallway, manhandles him around the corner, and shoves him up against the wall.

Obi-Wan hears her whispered threat from around the corner: “If you do anything or say anything to hurt them, I will end you. There aren’t very many Jedi right now, but I think they could manage with just one less.”

“You wouldn’t lay a hand on me.”

“I’m no longer a Jedi, _General_ Kota. I can cross the line if I must.”

He smiles a bit, and secretly, part of him is a little proud.

The Temple is beginning to feel alive again, even though the majority of those within are not Force-Sensitive. More bodies mean more mouths to feed, and even though the amount of supplies they received from Bail were good, it just wasn’t enough. A mission to retrieve supplies is decided on, from an outer rim planet far enough away so that they can’t be tracked back here.

Ahsoka volunteers to go, since she’s not an active Jedi and there is no reward for her capture. Yoda would like to send another student with her, but given the value of this mission, they can’t risk being given away by a careless mistake. Obi-Wan decides to go with her once they’ve chosen the planet. It’s Hutt controlled, and they have no love for the Empire either. The only thing they have to worry about is possible bounty hunters. That and their lack of currency. All they’ve got is Republic credits, which are useless this far out in the black.

Ahsoka assures Obi-Wan that she has a plan for it, and he reluctantly agrees. They travel by speeder bike back out to were the Venators are parked and take off in a captured freighter, just before the Venators power down and the last bit of crew head to the Temple.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Kafane gives Ahsoka reasons to believe that grass planets can be nasty. She had always found them a relief after being on some of the barren wastelands she’d been stuck on during the War. The sea of soft brown and green grasses waving welcomingly in the breeze had always been quite the respite from the days in space where there was nothing but black. Now, she’s convinced that the Hutts could make anything ugly.  

Even though he has traded his tunics for more civilian looking clothing—Thanks again, Bail—and has all of his face covered save his eyes, Master Kenobi can’t hide his disgust. The world still smells of death and the putrid stink of Hutt despite there not being one on this particular surface. He steps over a mound of rotting animal that has probably been laying in the same spot for Force knows how long.

She struggles to hide a laugh under her breath. Anakin had been right. Obi-Wan _could_ look dignified when up to his ears in filth. Ahsoka is the one leading this mission, as she is the one with a contact on this world. She warns the Jedi that this Rodian might not be the cleanest being in the galaxy, and that he might be more comfortable waiting toward the end of the road.

She meets the guard droid at the door of his homestead and mouths off her intentions to the droid, admonishing it to avoid taking too long in its report to its maker. The Huttese words roll of her tongue with surprising ease. She hasn’t had much occasion to use the language since she left the Order, but there would be an occasional customer who would demand to see the head mechanic about a repair he or she thought was unsatisfactory. Whenever she heard the language said customer spoke she would wave off the translator droid. For some reason, it always felt right to use Huttese when up to her knees in oil and engine grease. 

The owner of the homestead comes out eventually, and as she displays the number of credits she has in tow, his eyes get wide. She reminds him that this transfer is a “no questions asked” deal, and so he takes the hefty sum and provides her with a more useful currency.

She walks out securing the money in her pouch and meets Obi-Wan’s questioning gaze. “He’s a supplier for the Black Sun on Coruscant. I made a few connections during my time on Kaller.”

“The Black Sun? Ahsoka, they could use that money to—”

“I know.” She waves him off annoyed. “But we need to eat. We need to survive. And in order to do that we might have to make decisions we don’t want to…Stop.” She looks around as inconspicuously as she can. “Do you feel that?”

Before Obi-Wan can respond, a blaster bolt lands between them. “Move!”

And this is _not_ how she had wanted this to go. Get in, get the money, get out. Why can’t things ever be _simple._ A look over her shoulder confirms that it is a Pyke Syndicate assassin. _Lovely._

“Leave it up to Pharr to forget to mention that he’s involved in something.” She shouts across to Obi-Wan. She’s about to draw her blades when the Jedi prevents her.

“No. Ahsoka. Not unless we have to.”

The assassin has been joined by another now, and he’s a much better shot. Luckily, they dodge with ease, and Ahsoka thanks the Force for the reflexes it provides. Ahsoka sense their confusion and frustration as they attempt to figure out why they can’t hit them. They duck into a crowd or two before moving into a cantina. They pick a corner booth and sit down, back to the door, and Ahsoka orders them both a drink.

“Here.” Obi-Wan is holding out the cloth previous coving his face. She takes it a wraps it around her head until it frames her face, hiding what it can of her montrals. “We can lay low here until they’ve given up.”

“Or until they’ve killed Pharr, the _Barve_.” She takes a drink of the glass placed in front of her. Inwardly, she sighs. If they hadn’t been on mission, she’d have ordered another shot. But for now, she leans back in her seat and watches with Obi-Wan the mindless routine of those in cantina.

She peeks through the blinds periodically, and the last time she does, she spots the two empty handed hunters heading back the way they came. But, Pharr, she suspects, is long gone.

It’s dusk when they venture out again, both of them hungry but neither of them in the mood for the questionable cantina food. And so, sticking to the main road, they wander down a-little-ways before spotting a supplies and goods store.

Ahsoka speaks with the owner of the store, fabricating some story about the orphans she needs to feed and clothe and ends up with crates of food, blankets, and pretty much anything else she could want. The store owner even sends her boys to help them load it onto their ship, telling them that it is the least they can do to help such a noble cause.

She hates lying to someone who seems like one of the few decent people left in the known universe, but telling her that she has a Temple full of clones and Jedi younglings that need feeding probably isn’t wise.

And, technically, many of them have lost their Masters. So, they _are_ orphaned, just not in the traditional sense.

Supplies loaded, they thank the woman for her generosity, pay her extra, and get back in the air. Ahsoka hands Obi-Wan a ration bar once they are secured on their route back to Belsavis.

He mutters something about rethinking the cantina food, and the face of resigned disgust he makes when he takes the first bite sends her into the first honest-to-goodness real laughing fit she’s had in a long time.


	12. Those who sow destruction shall reap the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. I am going to warn, the description of what the weapon does might be a little disturbing. Just proceed with caution.  
> Happy New Year all! I hope it's been well; I've been getting settled back into a new semester.  
> Onto the show!

_2 Standard Months Later…_

Overall, he’s satisfied with the progress he’s made. His upper body is almost back to normal; he can move his arms and hands again with ease. It no longer exhausts him. He’s still frustrated that his legs don’t want to cooperate and sitting up is a chore, and he has a sinking feeling that he’s going to have to relearn to fight.

Obi-Wan has been ever reassuring and so very patient. Really, his old master deserves a medal for what he has had to put up with over the years.

He smiles again as he sticks his fork into a piece of nuna egg and then raises it to his mouth. Two months ago, he’d needed someone to do even this for him. This morning though, he’s able to eat in his own power, and eavesdrop on the conversations of the younglings nearby. Two of them sit not too far away, one of them is talking about a training exercise he’d had the other day and apparently, he had fallen over and landed straight on his backside. The younger one laughs, shaking his head, blonde curls bouncing back and forth on his head along with the motion, and suddenly, Anakin can’t look at them anymore, turning his attention to the opposite side of the room where Obi-Wan is coming barreling in. He looks panicked and disheveled, which is never a good sign. Obi-Wan is far to dignified to roam around looking _unkempt_.

“Master, what’s wrong?”

“Can you finish later, Anakin? You need to see this. Now.”

He puts down his fork and kicks the hoverchair into gear, following the older man out of the room. They enter the communications room, a holotransmission is frozen in front of them, and surrounding the table are all three members of the current council, two clones, and Ahsoka. Anakin has a sinking feeling he’s not going to like what he’s about to see.

Obi-Wan nods curtly at Ahsoka, and she begins the transmission from the beginning, before fleeing the room looking rather pallid.

The moment the voice begins to speak, Anakin feels an overwhelming dread. He starts to shiver as the cold sets in, and he’s having a hard time keeping a grasp on his shields. Obi-Wan can sense it too, and he steps closer to Anakin and aides him in keeping up his walls.

_“Citizens of the Empire, I am coming before you today with sad news. My administration has had to resort to drastic measures in an attempt to find someone of great danger to the galaxy. Anakin Skywalker—who many of you know as a great hero of the Old Republic—is now a fugitive from the Empire. He murdered his secret wife and children during the rebellion and has now fled from the Core Worlds. He has successfully recruited others to participate in heinous acts against sentient beings.”_

Clips of locals from the planet Dac—or Mon Calamari, some called it—viciously tearing each other apart. Anakin recognizes what has happened here. He knows many Mon Calamari and Quarren, for the most part, they are peaceful, only fighting if they have good reason. No, this slaughter is not the result of a violent race. This is a product of a water soluble drug that produces violent reactions in any and all who come into contact with it. And to think that the Empire has done this to smear his name infuriates him.

_“We cannot allow his followers to go unchecked. If we do, who knows how many worlds will become victims of this monstrosity. We’ve tried therapy, introducing calming substances into the water, and other solutions to no avail. To deal with this threat, we have created a weapon which will completely annihilate any piece of organic material in its wake. Reluctantly we have decided it was the best course of action to ensure our security. Here now we will show our first testing of it.”_

And when the footage begins, he thinks he’s going to need a trash bin. In front of him, he sees the flesh and muscles and bone melting, _dripping_ ¸ off of these people. He hears their horrified screams, that don’t seem to fade until after they have become entirely liquid. He watches the younglings melt away, their contents getting mixed with the others, floating away to wherever the oceans currents take them.

And suddenly a bucket it placed under his chin, a hand rubbing soothing circles into his back, and retches up his breakfast until he’s fairly certain if he were to retch again his insides would come up, too.

_“It is a terrible thing we have been forced to do. If anyone can provide information of his whereabouts, please come forward. And now, I have a message for him. Skywalker, stop this nonsense, turn yourself in so that no more lives must be wasted in this way.”_

The transmission ends there, and Anakin can feel himself shaking with rage. And fear. And guilt. “Two months of silence, and then he does _this._ ”

“It’s not your fault, Anakin. None us could have seen this coming.”

Minutes of silence pass. Shaak Ti has her head bowed, lips mumbling some kind of old ritual over the dead. Anakin wonders if Bant is alive to see this. Force, he hopes not. Sick of the eerie silence he speaks up. “When do we go?”

“When do we go what?” Obi-Wan looks down at him skeptically. “When do we amass our armies and take up our sword and storm the Senate Building? We can’t, Anakin. Right now, there is nothing we can do.”

And he knows Obi-Wan is right; he can feel the Masters around the room sickened by the lack of power the Order has now. Still though, he can’t stop himself from saying: “Then I’ll just go. If I hand myself in, no one else has to die.”

“You know that’s not true, Sir.” Rex says quietly, voice barely louder than a whisper. “You’ve seen what the Empire is willing to do to get its way.”

“Well there has to be _something_!” He slams his hand down onto the arm rest on the side of his chair.

Shaak Ti is looking up at him now, resigned. “Master Kenobi is right. All we can do now is wait. Perhaps this will spur more systems to rise up against the Empire.”

One by one they leave the room, until only he and Obi-Wan remain. Ahsoka enters once everyone else leaves, looking a bit more composed than she was minutes ago.

“What are we going to do about this?”

Both of them look at her. “Ahsoka, we can’t do anything. Not right now.”

“Maybe we can’t storm the beaches, but there is something we can do.”

Anakin looks at her with barely controlled irritation. “ _I_ can’t do anything, even if _we_ could do something. Maybe you should pitch this idea to someone else. Besides, the Council has already given the order to wait.”

She leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. “Since when do you do what you're told? No, listen to me. We could always put this weapon out of production, temporarily. Locate the laboratory, send in a team, take it out.”

“Ahsoka, the Council has directed us to wait. So, for now, all we can do is—”

“Master Obi-Wan, with all due respect, I’m not a Jedi. I don’t have to listen to the Council. And if I have to watch more footage of beings become nothing more than goo…”

“What’s to stop them from producing it somewhere else?”

“I’ve thought about that, too.” She sighs. “Look, we’re used to fighting with an army, hundreds of men behinds us, but I think we can do more damage to the Empire and more good for the people, by creating small teams to hit minor targets around the galaxy. Shipyards, laboratories, factories. And if we can do it in a way that there are little or no casualties—”

“We prove the whole ‘Jedi rebellion thing’ is complete _karking_ nonsense.” Anakin finishes. “She’s right, Master. It wouldn’t be putting us all at risk.”

He runs a hand over his face. “I hate when the two of you work against me. Very well, I shall speak with Master Yoda.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Frankly, Obi-Wan still thinks this is a terrible idea. But, nevertheless, here they are, about to do a trial run on Belsavis. Anakin still can’t get up and walk, so he’s in charge of coordinating and monitoring their operations from a secure location—which in this case is the Temple—and Ahsoka is leading one group, while Obi-Wan heads up the other.

They’ve staged targets two places in the snow. In theory, they’ll be able to take them both out at the same time and get back to a predetermined “extraction point”. Obi-Wan’s group consist of himself, Rex, Breandán, who he had treated for poison, and Ira, who was quite an impressive Force-user for her age. She must have been training to be a Consular.

Ashoka has Caleb Dume, Commander Appo, and Shryne, who is rather unhappy about following Ahsoka’s command, but he has accepted it, for the most part. She has moved her group to their “drop point”, and is now waiting to begin.

 _“Everyone clear on the objective?”_ Anakin’s voice crackles over the comms.

Obi-Wan isn’t sure what there is to not be clear on; this is basically a game of capture the flag.

_“Alright then. Everyone set? On three, we’ll launch. Three…Two…One…GO!”_

And they set off into the rocky, icy terrain. According the things, he’s hearing from Anakin and Ashoka’s group, they’re making good time; they should reach their objectives at the same time. Obi-Wan sees theirs coming over the horizon, an old, abandoned watch tower. Both teams set the object they are to find for the _other_ team, so Obi-Wan has no idea what they’re looking for.

They are told that the bottom for is crawling with troops—which is a complete fabrication, but he supposes it’s necessary—and so the Jedi jump up onto the ledge above, bringing Rex up behind them. The door mechanism is so old that it doesn’t open; Breandán ignites his saber and cuts a rectangular shape into the door. Ira looks at him questioningly.

“I was never very good at circles,” he mumbles, staring at his feet.

Obi-Wan can’t help but smile, and says to Anakin: “We’re in.”

 _“We’re in, too.”_ Ahsoka announces.

“Split up, and move quietly. Pretend there are combatants here.”

Which Obi-Wan decides isn’t too far from the truth as he rounds a corner on the third floor and comes face to face with one of Shryne’s troops firing at him. He deflects the shot quickly and turns back the way he came, searching for a place to hide until the trooper moves away.

 _“Ah,” Anakin’s sheepish voice says, “I forgot to mention that there_ are _troops in the buildings. Weapons are set to stun, but, still, don’t get hit.”_

As soon as they get back to the Temple, Obi-Wan is going to kill him.

Rex’s voice interrupts his plans for murder. “ _I’ve got it_.”

“Anakin, we’ve got it.”

_“So does Ahsoka. Alright, get out of there.”_

They manage to get back to the extraction point at the same time, Shryne waving at them as they came into view.

Ahsoka is ginning. “This went better than I thought it would.”

Obi-Wan replies with a rather undignified snort.


	13. O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine. 
> 
> I apologize for the shorter chapter, but Anakin seemed to want it to end where it did.

The reports of a second attack come a standard week after the first. The video has less propaganda this time, focusing mostly on the destruction wrought by “the influence of these insurgents” and “the force necessary to put them down". This video is no easier to watch than the first. Ahsoka shift on her feet, the images still shake her to her core. Absently, she places her hands on her lightsabers, breathing in and out, trying to recenter herself.

“I think it is time we mobilize a team.” Obi-Wan ventures.

Shaak Ti nods, reaching over to turn off the repeating footage of beings that are slowly melted down into nothing. Her face is pale. “I agree. Has Senator Organa found a location yet?”

Anakin moves over to the computer terminal, keying in the code to pull up Bail’s information. “He’s found the locations of several possible research laboratories and one production site. The compound Sidious is using to cause this effect is only found on a select few planets.”

“We should attack the production site first. It’ll take them awhile to get set up on another planet.”

"Agreed. Who's up for this?"

Ahsoka volunteers to lead the first assault before the location is even named. She is given permission to assemble and head up a team. Master Dralig volunteers to go, and she recruits Caleb, impressed with his earlier exploits on Kaller. Kota joins too, mumbling something about needing to “get away from all these damn clones.” It takes her former Master’s hand on her shoulders to stop her from ending the man where he stands.

She waits until most of the others have left the supply room before going in herself. She has always preferred to prepare alone, choosing to gather supplies and meditate after everyone else has finished. Anakin never understood this. He meditates with Master Obi-Wan before battles and spends time talking to the men, trying to lift their spirits before they start.

She shrugs the backpack off of her shoulders, grabbing a few detonators, an R-series manipulator taken off a decommissioned Astromech, and adds a few EMP grenades as an afterthought. She reaches for a first aid kit, halting her motion briefly when she hears Anakin comes in behind her. He says nothing, allowing her to finish packing and turn around.

She takes a moment to look him over. She has noticed he has been a little off lately, more subdued. It makes sense, any normal person would change when their entire world falls apart beneath their feet. She used to think that nothing could slow her Master down. He would always be fast, moving, and sometimes abrasive. But now, he is calm, his shoulders sag like they’re holding up the galaxy, and his usually blinding presence in the Force is darkened. She hates it. The man in front of her is staring at his hands, with a nervous look on his face. She sighs and moved to sit down on the crates next to him.

“I’ll be fine, Anakin.”

“I know you will. That-that’s not why I’m here.”

She can tell he’s struggling with something, but before she can say anything, he mumbles a statement that takes her off guard.

“Caleb said your blades where white, not green. You kept them but changed the crystal.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

There is so much packed into those three letters. _Why did you leave? Why did you never contact? Why haven’t you rejoined in light of all that has happened? Why? Why? Why?_

“I don’t…consider myself a Jedi anymore.” At his crestfallen expression she rushes to continue. “I mean, I left that part of my life behind when I walked down the Temple steps. But I’m a Force-user, I can’t change that, so I went searching for a while, trying to decide where I aligned, who I was. I had only been on Kaller for a month when everything went to the Corellian Hells. I discovered that I still hold onto many of my Jedi teachings. I don’t consider myself 'grey'. I am light. I am rooted in the light, but I am not a Jedi.”

Anakin is smiling at her by the end of it. “I understand. I mean, I don't...but I sorta do? You really have grown so much.”

She hugs him briefly, and this time, he can hug back. “I would have never been able to question and challenge and grow if you hadn’t been my teacher.”

Releasing him she adjusts the black coloured covering that she’s using for stealth and throws her bag over her shoulder.

“Come on, Anakin. Let’s go irritate the Empire.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

The teams journey via small transport vessel is taking set to take three standard days. They will be cutting it close; the last attack came only one standard week after the first. Anakin relays a message from Bail about some medical relief supplies that they can pick up on the way, adamant that, while their primary mission is destruction, every effort should be made to give the people aid.

People need to know that they aren’t terrorists, but freedom fighters, aiming to help in any way they can.

Their target is a research laboratory on Pembric II. The day they arrive will be an Imperial holiday, so the laboratory will be empty. After that, they’ll drop supplies and get out before the Empire can track them down.

But as Anakin now has three days before he has to be on comms, his attention is rerouted to healing.

Alone with Master Ti and Obi-Wan, he steels himself for what comes next. His Master holds out his hands, palms up, and grasps Obi-Wan’s forearms. As soon as Anakin feels his hands grip Obi-Wan’s arms, he is pulled to his feet. His legs still tremble, and he can’t make himself support his own weight. He’s leaning on his mentor for support. Obi-Wan starts to shake under the added weight, and Anakin feels a sudden shift in the Force. It wraps around him, dragging him up and helping him stand.

Master Ti motions for him to move to the bed. She and Obi-Wan get him settled together.

“You still have almost no feeling in your legs?”

“No. I mean I feel…pressure? Maybe? But I can’t _feel_ them. That probably doesn’t make sense.”

The Consular sets her hand on her chin thinking for a moment. She grabs Dira’s crystal out of her bag. “I’d like to try one more time, to go into your system and fix the nerves. But it’s been two months, Anakin. I’m not sure if it can be fixed.”

Her last sentence hits him hard. He’s been preparing for this. He thought _was_ prepared for this. Apparently not. He must have tears lurking near the surface, because Obi-Wan settles a hand on his shoulder, and pushes his mind across their bond.

Shaak Ti enters shortly after. She focuses her energy on Anakin’s lower back, and into his lumbar and sacral nerves. She pushes the Healing Force into the delicate nerves, trying to get them to carry some impulse—any impulse—of movement or feeling down into his legs. She gives everything she can, and the healing crystal pulses more than once. When she begins to tire, Obi-Wan joins her in her ambitions. But the amount of Healing Force they give is simply not enough. Shaak Ti leaves first, allowing master and apprentice a moment to themselves. Obi-Wan stays behind, comforting his distraught Padawan.

Anakin sobs. He sobs about his legs. He weeps for Padmé and his children. He mourns for the Order, for his Master, for everyone else who has lost everything. He cries for the people of Mon Cala. He had tried to hold things together. To ignore the weight of it all, and move on, focusing on what could be done instead of what couldn’t be changed. But like he did when he tried to stand on his own, he finally crumbled.

“Because you never really allowed yourself to grieve, Anakin.”

So now he does. Obi-Wan says nothing, just staying with him. He sits there, greiveing into the Force, Obi-Wan diverting the emotional release to avoid attracting attention. Anakin cries until he is spent, and then he leans against the wall behind the bed, shoulders drooping.

And then he has an idea.

“Wait.” He says, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “Wait.” He straightens out of his morose slump. “You helped me stand with the Force. What if I can do that? Maybe I could walk with it.” He struggles to get himself positioned so that he can try again. “Master, help me. Do what you did before.”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea. Perhaps we should get Master Ti?”

“No. Help me up.”

Obi-Wan reluctantly takes his hands again and pulls him up, wrapping the Force around the lower portion of his spine. Anakin’s mind pushes in, asking for the transfer, and he opens himself to the Force again, completely. The younger Jedi takes control, imbuing his lumbar and sacral nerves with the Force. He nods at Obi-Wan, and the Master releases his Force-grip on Anakin, leaving his hands on Anakin’s arms just in case he has to make a quick grab.

But Anakin holds. He stands. He s _tands_. He tries something else. Tries to pick up a leg and place it down in front of him. And then the other one. Obi-Wan knows what he’s doing and moves back with him. Anakin takes a full step, wobbling a little, but regaining his balance. They move across the room like that, Anakin leading, Obi-Wan there just to catch him if he falls. He can feel the sweat on his brow, face twisted in concentration. It’s difficult to focus the Force on such a small part of himself. Nerves are tiny and fragile. Too much Force and they can shatter.

Exhausted, He moves back toward the bed, sitting down and releasing the Force grip he has on his legs. He feels triumphant.

“I could use this. I could learn to walk, run, _fight_ with the Force. Well, in a different way, I mean.”

“We don’t know if that’s damaging, or how long you can maintain it. We should proceed with caution. 

Anakin smiles, _really_ smiles, for the first time in so long. “Well, we’ve got three days to figure it out.”


	14. This is a strong and sure foundation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it has been almost 84 years! Applications and papers hit me. And then at the hospital on shift today I was like, "Oh, hey! You have a fic. Write that."   
> So here we are.  
> As usual Unbeta'd, all mistakes mine.

Caleb wakes to a hand on his shoulder. He rubs sleep out of his eyes, before rolling over. “What time is it, Master…” he trails off as soon as he sees Ahsoka’s face. Something—sympathy, he thinks—flashes across her face.

But she says nothing about it and merely answers his question. “0500 standard. 2300 local. We’re about to start our descent to the planet’s surface, so get up and gear up.”

He drags himself to his feet, throwing the blanket off of his shoulders as he stands. Reattaching his lightsaber to his belt, he walks over to where Master Shryne is putting a black covering over his tunic. Caleb doesn’t like the way the black hides his tunics, covering any appearance of his Jedi allegiance underneath. It seems too symbolic of how the Dark has snuffed out the Light Side across the galaxy.

Master Shryne hands him a black cloak and says, “I know we were introduced before we left, but your name has escaped me.”

“Caleb Dume, Master Shryne. At your service.”

“Caleb? Depa’s apprentice?”

“I-I was.”

“Ah.” The older man looks down at his feet then, and Caleb sees him take a couple of deep breaths. “I am sorry for your loss, Padawan. She was an exceptional Jedi.”

“You knew her?”

“I trained with her during our younger years. She was always one step ahead of me, and I hated it. Eventually though, we became friends. After we were knighted, we saw less and less of each other. I had hoped she had survived.” He blinked rapidly and cleared his throat. “Well, let’s report for duty. I’m sure Ahsoka is ready to get us planetside.”

He follows him down to the hold, staying one step behind him. The more he talks with the man, the more he decides he likes him. He knows Master Shryne could tell him all sorts of things about Master Billaba. All he has to do is work it out of him.

Ahsoka is standing in the hold, getting communications set up with Skywalker back on Belsavis. Caleb feels their ship begin to descend, verifying that their pilot—the job Ahsoka had assigned Kota because she liked him least and it kept him out of her way—is able to receive orders via comm. That means that as soon as the team is ready to be picked up, they can be. The faster the response time from all parties, the less chance there is for them to be discovered.

“Is everyone still clear on the plan?” Ahsoka checks, as the ship nears the ground. At everyone’s affirming nod, she hands out a holotransmitter with the schematics on it to each of them. “Just in case we get separated.”

The landing gear touches down and the shift makes the tell-tale bounce signifying its landing is complete. The red light in the hold flashes to green, and, for a moment, Caleb feels like he’s back in the Clone Wars, about to make a jump from an LAAT onto the surface of a battlefield. It feels almost exactly like old times, except that the Master behind him is not _his_ Master, and that the Jedi beside him are a small group of a now fading Order. If they fail, there will be no rescue this time. He tries not to think about that.

The group makes their way down the ramp and into the darkness. The moon cycle is in its “new moon” phase, so there is little light to see by. Ahsoka has a glow-rod out in front of her, red in colour so that it cannot been seen from far away. She’s leading them by a path she’s memorized on the trip here. Caleb realizes that they are working their way up a steep incline, and it hits him that they’ve landed in a more mountainous region, which easily conceals their ship.

It just means more walking for the lot of them. Brilliant.

They walk on in silence for a good while, up and down a seemingly endless amount of hills that all look the same in the darkness. He’s half expecting to round a corner and stand face to face with their ship again.

Suddenly, in the comm link in his ear he hears a harsh whisper. _“You guys are close now. Ahsoka, dim your light.”_

_“Already done.”_ And that’s weird, because he can hear Ahsoka ahead of him but her voice comes through comms as well. _“We’ve got eyes on the compound. There are two guards at the front gate, but no major presence here—at least, on the surface.”_

_“Inside there are two detachments of…droids?”_ Skywalker sounds just as surprised as the rest of them. _“Yeah, scanners are correct. This station is guarded by repurposed Separatist droids. There’s normally a small detachment of—Stormtroopers? That’s what they’re calling them?”_

Ahsoka leans forward a bit and places her hand flat on the mountain’s surface. She’s completely still for a second, and Caleb is beginning to wonder if she’s fallen asleep, when she jumps to her feet.

“There’s an access vent not far from here, usually for service droids.” She says to them and Skywalker. “We can use it to get in. Let’s go!” She jumps down out of sight, quickly followed by Masters Dralig and Shryne. Caleb doesn’t like the idea of jumping down where he can’t see, but he hears his Master’s voice whispering in the back of his mind: _Don’t look. Feel._ So, he senses where the other Jedi have landed, closes his eyes, and jumps down after them, allowing the Force to guide him safely down.

“Good work, Padawan.” Master Shryne assures him. He had forgotten how nice it was to hear that.

They get to the access vent unseen, and he’s so pleased to see that it is big enough for all of them to fit. Shryne goes in first, with a smile and two fingered salute, he and Ahsoka go next, and Master Dralig follows. The first panel they come across is an access panel to the hallway down below. Ahsoka attaches a bug to the panel that short circuits the system for the entire floor. The lights below them shut off, and she opens a vent and jumps down. A few moments later, Caleb hears the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber, and the sound of the blade searing through metal.

“Got it. We’re good.”

_“You’re on the first subfloor. The actual lab is two more down. You’re going to need to set the charges and get out. And you may need to do it on each floor along the way?”_

“May?” Master Shryne asks. “What do you mean we _may_ need to?”

_“I don’t know! Do what feels right.”_

“Will do. Thanks.”

They get access to a turbolift just down the way a bit. They stop on the second sub-floor for, but the doors don’t open.

“Master Dralig,” Ahsoka asks, handing him a bag out of her pack. “Would you terribly mind destroying those droids and then meeting us back on Subfloor 1?”

“Not at all.” He takes the pack and exits, and Ahsoka presses the button to continue downward.

The elevator opens to a massive room. The laboratory has stations lining every wall and running through the middle. They split up to cover different sections. Caleb weaves in and out of each station shocked at the amount of chemicals—some of them illegal in scientific research across the galaxy—contained in these vials.

_“Master.”_ Ahsoka voice drifts over comms. _“You’re not going to like this.”_

_“What did you find?”_

Caleb has drawn closer to her then to see what she’s found. The label on the research datapad makes his heart stop.

“They’re working on a substance that can destroy midi-chlorians. Says here that they’ve ‘had one successful test, but so far it has only worked in small doses’. They’ll continue testing on their subject after the holiday.”

_“Ahsoka, that means they’ve got a captive. Find them.”_

“Okay, I’ll stay here and set the charges. Shryne, Caleb, try to find our test subject. Korun, male. That’s all the description we’ve got.”

The two of them get into the elevator and ride up to sub-floor 2, bolting out as the doors open and nearly knocking over Master Dralig in the process.

“Cin! We need your help. We’re looking for a survivor, a lifeform that’s not on the scanners.” Cin placs a hand on his shoulder and closed his eyes as they moved to stand in the middle of the hallway. Shryne steps over a fallen commando droid and smiles.

“Nice work.”

“Ahsoka’s forethought proved valuable.”

“Caleb,” Master Shryne calls. “Come here and help us.”

He walks forward feeling skeptical. “What help am I going to be?”

“Three minds are better than one.”

So together they reach into the Force and start looking for any kind of feeling, wave, pulse, _anything_ that might reveal the location of a victim. The hallways are a vast nebula of metal lifelessness, and the only vibrant lifeforms they can feel are their own and Ahsoka’s. Caleb feels a tugging at his consciousness, though, and begins to follow it separately from the group. It feels familiar somehow, and the farther he follows it, the more he is convinced that he knows it. The sensation leads him all the way back to a small room hidden in the walls of a corridor two hallways over. And when his mind gets that close, he realizes who it was reaching out to him.

He knew that signature.

“I found him!” He takes off running toward the man trapped behind several layers of durasteel. He vaguely registers the two older Jedi taking off behind him.

He rounds the corner and places his hands up against the wall, feeling for the room underneath. When he finds it, he wastes no time trying to find a button, choosing instead to ignite his saber and carve a hole in the wall.

Laying before them in an angry, exhausted looking heap, is Jedi Master Mace Windu. Caleb’s master’s master. He knew he felt familiar. The man is smaller than he remembers, and there is a deep gash cutting across his face. He is certain that it was caused by a lightsaber.

“Master Windu!” The boy rushes to him, stretching out a hand.

Dralig and Shryne step into the little room, and haul the master to his feet.

“Skywalker,” Shryne says into the comms. “We’ve got him. The Empire had Master Windu.”

  _“Get him out of there. Blow the charges, drop the relief supplies, and get back to Belsavis quickly.”_

They meet Ahsoka in the lift. She has one finger on the trigger. “I grabbed the research data on that solution _and_ some of the data on the bioweapon. What you do say about going out through the front door?”

The lift deposits them on the ground floor, and Ahsoka and Caleb lead the group down the main hallway and to the main entrance. She pulls the blasters out of the guards’ hands as soon as they walk through the door, and Caleb’s lightsaber slices them in two. She pushes them both up against the now closed blastdoors hard enough to knock them out for a good while. Kota brings the ship up overhead just in time, landing a few feet in front of them.

Masters Dralig and Shryne get Master Windu situated in the rooms above the cargo hold, and Caleb is about to follow up behind them, but he notices Ahsoka standing on the still downed ramp as the ship rises into the air.

He watches her lift up the remote trigger in her fist. “Good riddance,” she says, and the whole complex goes up in smoke.

“We did it, Anakin. We’ll air drop supplies on the way out of atmo.”

_“Good work team. See you in a few days. We’ll have a team ready for Master Windu when he gets here.”_

He and Ahsoka push the supply cartons out as they fly over the needy villages, one by one sending important packets of relief to the people below. He hopes they understand that they’re trying to help them. Maybe the messages inside will convince them.

Once they’ve finished and Ahsoka has gone back up, Caleb finds himself sitting alone in the hold. He’s glad to have had this mission to remind him that they could still make a difference, but working with Master Shryne has reopened the wound that Master Billaba’s death had created.

_You would be so helpful to this mission, Master. And I know Master Windu would be happy to see you._

“Caleb?” Master Shryne’s voice startles him from his thoughts. “May I sit?” At Caleb’s eager nod, the man sits down on the crate beside him, handing him a ration bar and a cup of water.

They eat together, neither saying a word. It’s nice to have this kind of quiet companionship, even if it makes him long for his teacher.

“Caleb, I know that we’ve only briefly known each other, and so I completely understand if your answer is no. But I see potential in you, Caleb, the same kind I’m sure Depa saw. And her death has left you without a Master…but, I knew her, and she was a good friend. So, if you’ll have me, I would like to continue your training in her honour.”

Caleb’s eyes widen. He can’t help the smile that breaks out on his face. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“I would be honoured, Master Shryne.”

“Well then. I take you, Caleb Dume, as my Padawan learner.”

Caleb stands and gives the deepest bow he can manage, before smiling back up at his new Master. This mission worked out great! Everything went off without a hitch, he got a new teacher, and they rescued Master Windu.

So why did he have a bad feeling lingering in the back of his mind?


	15. Forward through the ages, in unbroken line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spring...break...is...coming.  
> And then I'll be able to upload some more plot.   
> But for now we'll get the next part of plot rolling.  
> Familiar face and places have we.
> 
> Shout out to Dave Filoni and crew for providing characters and places.

Master Windu looks terrible. Anakin has never seen the man look so haggard. He’s thin and limp and unconscious, showing no signs of waking. Anakin never cared for the man immensely, but he feels terrible seeing him now. The scar across his left eye looks deep, and Anakin wonders if it still has any use at all. Shryne and Dralig have him held between them, and Dralig mentions that he thinks Windu has been given a strong drug. He rattles off a few more details about his injuries, before Shryne switches places with Master Ti, and together they lead him down to the make-shift Healer’s Ward.

But Anakin’s worry about the physical problems fades when he notices how Windu _feels_.

He feels like nothing, or rather, like his Force signature is there but at the same time isn’t.

He watches absently as they walk down the corridor. He leans back in his chair and tries again to reach him. Nothing.

Ahsoka kneels down beside him. “Master, are you okay? You look pale.”

“He-He doesn’t feel right, Ahsoka. Something is wrong.”

“Ah, that may have something to do with the research we found. I was going to go give it to Master Ti but…here.” She shrugs her pack off her shoulders and shoves a datapad and someone’s—a scientist, he gathers—rushed handwriting on a couple pieces of flimsipant.

His eyes dart back and forth between the pad and the flimsi. _This isn’t possible. It can’t be possible._ And now he wonders if they really got away as unscathed as they thought they did. The odds of them just happening on research that hadn’t yet been secured and of them just happening of the cell of a Jedi Master who had been assumed dead were not good. Sidious let them find this. He had this planned; of course he did. He planned the Clone Wars, the destruction of the Jedi down to the last detail. So it’s entirely possible that he planned this, too.

“Ahsoka!” He shouts suddenly, forgetting she is kneeling right next to him. “Have them check Windu for a tracker! On his clothes, in his blood, _anywhere_! Rex, tell them to be ready to fire up the Venators!”

“Master—?”

Obi-Wan appears next to him. “Anakin, what are you thinking?”

“I need your help.”

He and Obi-Wan cross to the other side of the expanse. Wordlessly, his master rests a hand on his shoulder and brushes his mind with his.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I-I think Sidious is onto us. That he let us find Windu. I need your signature to meld with mine, that way he can’t tell who is probing. But I think _they’re_ coming. Help me look?”

Obi-Wan does what he asked him to, and together they start to push out into space. They pass by the planets nearby them, weaving in and out between the ships and stars that dot the landscape. It feels like they’re traveling through hyperspace, the stars lengthening and blurring the further in they go. They exit the Outer Rim and cross into the Expansion Regions, still no sign of trouble, but the Force continues to press him onward. They enter the Mid-Rim, and Anakin’s heart twinges as they pass Naboo. He feels Obi-Wan’s gentle nudging: _Stay focused_. As they cross the border in to the Colonies, Anakin starts to feel it. Darkness. Smothering. It’s a fight now to go any further, a strain on both of their minds, but the Force is screaming that they must go deeper. Entering the Inner Rim, it becomes clear. The waves of darkness radiating off of dark masses that are shaped like ships. The Force wails a warning: _They are coming!_

Both of them are thrown from their meditation and look up to see Ahsoka running toward them.

“Anakin, they…they found a tracker. Well, several trackers. In his bloodstream. They’ve destroyed them but—”

“—It’s too late.” Sweat dripping off his forehead and a little winded Anakin activated the make-shift comm system they have installed throughout the Temple. “I need everyone’s attention. The Empire is coming. They’ve breeched the Inner Rim. We have to get out of here. Load what you can onto the Venators; get moving. We don’t have much time. We need to be long gone by the time they arrive.”

Obi-Wan gets to his feet. “You stay. Help where you can. But get on the ships as soon as possible,” he orders as he moves away from him to help pack things up.

Thus the serene atmosphere of the Temple disintegrates into action. Anakin watches his fellow Jedi and Shryne’s troops move around them, carrying crates back to the Venators. A few of the younglings mumble as they go about packing, wondering if they would ever really be safe from the Empire.

He hears one of them ask Ahsoka: “We just got moved in. It is nice here. Why do we have to leave?”

When he was younger, he hated the security that his Jedi peers had grown up in. They hadn’t ever been hungry or cold or scared. _He_ had. He knew intimately what it felt like to fear for his life at a young age. To feel the gnawing pains of hunger on top of the pain of the beatings he was given because he made a mistake. But now, now he wishes he could shield these little ones from any further harm. They endured something horrible on Coruscant. He knows. He was there.

Feeling useless, he pulls up the record of old temples again and sinks back into the Force. _Show me one where we can be safe. One where they can’t find us._ He opens his eyes to see an ancient Temple floating in front of him. The shape of it reminds him of the pod like structures he encountered on Maridun. This one was still an Outer Rim planet, and bless the Force, it’s a grass planet! This one would do.

With the final crate out of the Temple, they board onto the two Star Destroyers. The clones are overjoyed to be back on their ships, and to be honest, Anakin is too. This is familiar. But instead of his instinct to stand and fight, they’re running again. This is the last time.

He stands on the bridge with the Masters and hears the shout called out for coordinates. “Take an alternate route. We’re headed to Lothal.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

They exit hyperspace above the planet. Anakin has already taken care of their sensors, scrambling their ships signatures. They lower themselves to the ground slowly, taking care to hide the ships among the hills. Dralig and Shaak Ti stay behind to help cover the ships with grasses, while the rest of them begin the trek to the Temple with the crates in tow. There is an underlying concern running through the group: Windu’s health. It’s going to take them time to set up a medical station again, and no one is confidant he has that long. But nothing is said on the journey toward the Temple. They have other matters at hand.

“Careful, we must be. This Temple become like the one on Illum, it has. Used for testing Jedi, it has been. But able to convert it, we should be, if careful, we are.” Yoda warns them.

Anakin longs for the Temple on Coruscant now more than ever.

When they reach the Temple, he feels the warmth of the Light around him again. Carved into the ground beneath him are the symbols of both sides of the Force. The mounds of the Temple rise out of the round like spires. Another cave system. Fantastic. He would give anything to get out of this chair and get up and walk around. To feel the Force flowing up from the ground below. But for now, he must be content with what he can do. And that is to sit and search for the entrance.

He isn’t the only one. Beside him he can feel Obi-Wan reaching for it, both of them realizing at the same time.

“Master and Apprentice,” is said in unison.

“Indeed,” Shryne steps up beside them. “Then may I request that I and my Padawan open the Temple?”

Yoda gives them an approving nod. All eyes on the two of them, Roan Shryne and Caleb Dume step forward. Anakin feels the nervousness rolling off of Caleb, but Shryne manages to calm him quickly. There is a shift in the Force, and together they reach into the inner mechanisms of the Temple, and it begins to rise out of the ground. The door is open.

These two will be a good match.

Anakin and the others go in first. Shryne stating they’ll keep the door open until the other Masters return from the ships. Caleb hasn’t opened his eyes to see his work, brow still creased in concentration. Anakin remembers being that young, that ready to please.

He feels the rush of cold hit him from the cave below, and he decides to wrap himself up in the Force again like a blanket. He just left one Temple where it felt like the cold seeped into his bones and stayed there; he’s not ready for another.

Lothal’s Temple is more like a labyrinth. The entrance has the traditional pillars, each bearing ancient runes that have been carved into the surface. These are different from the ones on Belsavis, but he can’t tell if it’s older or newer. They pass the fourth set of pillars and stand in front of another rune-bearing door. Anakin looks to his right and jumps. Two persevered skeletons kneel by the pillars.

“Used for testing, this Temple was. Masters whose Padawans never returned, these are. Convince the Temple, we must, to allow us to reside here. Else purge us from it, it will.”

There is some mumbling amongst their clone companions, before one of them speaks up. “Will it…like us? Since we aren’t Jedi and all.”

“Allied with us, you are. No reason to attack you, does it have.”

Rex clears his throat then and removes his helmet. “Not to interrupt, Sirs, but the Empire is broadcasting this on all open channels.” He plays the broadcast from his holoprojector, and the images fill the entire room.

The Temple on Belsavis took heavy fire from Imperial ships, before crumbling down on itself. One more Temple, thousands more years of history, destroyed by the Empire.

“Cut it off.”

An eerie silence falls among them. The dark of the cave becomes darker as Shryne and Caleb enter in with the other Masters.

“A test this temple is. A trial. Someone who passed their trials they have not, must go. A Padawan we need.”

“I could go.” Ahsoka volunteers. “I was a Padawan when I left, maybe—”

“No. No longer a Jedi are you. Left that path, you have.”

“I’ll go.” And once again, all eyes turn to Caleb Dume. “There are others here who are Padawans…but so far…I’m the only one who has a new Master. So, I’ll go. What must I do?”

“Embark on a dangerous task, young one. A dangerous task.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Sidious slams his fists down on his desk. “What do you mean they _left_?!”

_“They were gone when we destroyed it, Sir. No sign of them.”_

“Find them!”

He cuts off the communication and leans back in his chair. Clearly the bioweapon hadn’t drawn them out the first time. Time to use it again. But this time, he would add another element into the mix. He presses a button underneath the edge of his desk and waits.

An armoured figure steps into the room, weapon securely in place on her back. She moves to where he sits and kneels in front of him.

“What would you have me do, Master?”

He looks at the young Mirilan girl and smiles. How far she has fallen. “Inquisitor, this is the moment we have been preparing for. Lead the assault onto Kashyyyk. The weapon is to be used against any and all who stand in your way. But you have a different target. Luminara Unduli has been reported alive and in hiding on the planet’s surface. Find her. End her. And give the Jedi another incentive to give themselves up.”

She stands then, bowing low. “It will be done, Milord.”

And he watches as Barriss Offee exits the room, prepared to deliver another blow to the Jedi.


	16. In Your Presence Resting Here, I'm Satisfied

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where do I begin? Warnings for darker violence and themes and supernatural transcendent weirdness. The Force is doing its thing.  
> Unbeta'd; all mistakes mine.
> 
> Hooray for Spring Break!

The Temple on Lothal is full of dualities. It is warm and cold, dark while light, abandoned while being full. It feels like the caves of Illum, and Caleb isn’t eager to repeat that experience any time soon. He’s been given his mission by Master Yoda, and it’s taking every calming technique he knows to reign in his nervousness. Caleb longs for the Temple on Coruscant, warm and sunny and secure.

He walks over to where Master Windu has been positioned. Master Windu is barely conscious, but despite his intense healing regiment, he asks for Caleb repeatedly. Seemingly quite unpleased with the mission resting on Caleb’s shoulders, he demands a chance to speak with him, ignoring any protests on Master Kenobi’s part that he should be saving his energy. So now he stands alone in front of his “grand-Master”.

He’s weak, his voice fragile. Master Billaba never portrayed her Master as frail, and standing before him in the Council, he always had a presence. Now, he’s just a reminder of how much things have changed.

“Master Windu, I’m glad you’re alive,” he starts, tired of the silence and Master Windu’s hard, one-eyed glare.

“Depa is dead.” It isn’t a question, more a statement, and Caleb doesn’t know how to respond.

“Yes, Master. On Kaller.”

“I know; I felt it.” He is silent, and then, “She spoke very highly of you, said you had potential. You’ll need to be very careful when you begin this mission.”

“I still don’t fully understand what I’m supposed to do.”

“You will.” And with that, he begins to cough, and Master Ti is back fussing over him once again.

Caleb bows deeply at his dismissal, and turns to look at the stone door he’ll be walking through in a few moments. He’s not ready, not wise enough, but he volunteered before he really thought about it. He takes a few centering breaths, and makes his way to the door. He’s terrified, and he has a sinking feeling the Temple knows it, too.

Master Shyrne must sense his fear because he nods at him and sets his hands on his shoulders. “May the Force be with you, Caleb.” And then he kneels down in front of the door, like the skeleton Masters before him.

The door rumbles closed behind him when he enters. It’s dark again, darker than the rest of the Temple. He takes his saber off his belt and ignites it, blue blade casting a somber light around him. The light bounces off the stalactites, making them look sharper, and the shadows make them seem to be reaching down at him.

He begins to make his way further into the cave, lightsaber guiding his steps. He passes through an archway, coming to a three pronged fork in the road. There are three doors stretched before him, and wind rushes at him from each one. He closes his eyes and asks the Force to show him the way, but he’s pulled from his meditation by the sound of a blaster firing coming from the left door. He turns and sprints down the cavern’s long hallway. Around the corner he sees the back of soldiers— _Clone_ soldiers—standing in a half circle by the ledge of the cliff. The hum of his lightsaber catches their attention, and they turn to face him. Between them, he can now see a figure collapsed down on the ground. The clones’ weapons are fixed on him now, but his gaze is fixed on the figure on in front of him.

 His Master’s eyes look up at his, but not his current Master—not Master Shryne—Depa Billaba is before him again, and Caleb’s heart pounds in his chest. He can’t watch her die again. He _can’t._

She looks up at him and speaks the two words that have haunted him since Kaller. “Caleb, run!”

 _No. Not this time._ But as he steps forward to aid her, she flings a hand out, Force hitting him hard in the chest. His back slams hard into the stone behind him, and he slumps to the ground, gasping for air. He lifts his head from the cold stone just in time to see a clone trooper shoot his Master square in the forehead, before kicking her lifeless corpse down into the pit below.

The clones turn and face him. He stands to his feet and reignites his lightsaber. He jumps at them, slicing their blasters in two. Flinging his hand out, he throws them against the wall. A helmet goes bouncing behind him as he surges forward and places his blade at the neck of their leader. He stares up into the face of his Master’s killer, and finds a confused, frightened Styles.

“Kid? What-what happened? Where is the General?”

“ _You_! You _killed_ her! She trusted you, and you betrayed her!”

A startled gasp runs through the four of them. “I-I—that’s not true! It can’t be.”

Realization hits him. Hard. And as angry as he wants to be at the man in front of him, it all starts to fade away. They didn’t know.

He steps away from him then, and powers down his saber. He closes his eyes and breathes out once, and when he opens them, the four men are gone. A door catches his attention, a door that wasn’t there before. He takes another deep breath, and realizes now that he’s shaking. Hesitantly, he moves forward, trying to calm himself, to release the fear.

_Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. Beware the Dark Side, Jedi._

The next hallway is thinner than the last. The walls press in on him, and so does the Dark. It surrounds him, choking him, snuffing out his Light little by little. It weakens him, and eventually he has to crawl. He wants so much to give in, to stop. The Darkness plants images in his mind, and he feels himself be overtaken by a vision.

_An ever-growing fleet of ships. Temple on Coruscant destroyed. The remaining Council members falling. A black shrouded figure laughs, lightning springing from his fingertips. He hears screaming, wailing, moaning. There is blood running everywhere and pools of organic substances that used to be sentient beings. Master Shryne falling, leaving him alone again. The Light side exploding brightly, like a supernova, before fading into oblivion, the Dark swallowing it up. It turns to face him and bounds toward him, sinister in its movements. He can’t run away, can’t escape, so he stands in place as the evil rushes toward him._

The Dark shouts at him as it tries to swallow him, telling him to surrender, to lay down and die with his Master. It feeds his mind an image of her lying dead on Kaller, left to be food for the birds, and that is enough.

He reaches through the Dark, pushing his way out through the enclosing tendrils. He crawls forward one pace at time, until he can see a light up ahead. Pace by pace he crawls until he reaches the end of the tunnel. He fights an enemy that is formless, void, and finds it to be the most exhausting battle he’s ever had.

He gets his body just out of the darkness and into the Light and collapses down on the ground. He reaches almost flailing into the Light, grasping for the first tendrils of it he feels. The Light comes and surrounds him like an embrace, warming his cold, tired body, giving him more than he asked for. The Force gives, and the Force takes away.

If this is a Padawan trial, he doesn’t want to think about what his Knight trial will be like.

The Force helps him to his feet and leads him into an expanse. There are crystals lighting the walls, and they glow brighter as he approaches them. He feels a joy, a _pride_ in the air, and he kneels in the center of it in reverence. Tentatively, he brushes his perception into the Temple again, and feels the well of the Force within it. There is a feeling a laughter at his actions, and the Force seems pleased with him and presses a question into his mind.

_What is it that you seek?_

Overwhelmed, he drops to his knees, and conjures up an image in his mind. An image of the Jedi in the Temple. He tries to imbue the picture with sensations: safety, security. _Hide us. Please. So we can make a difference._

Again words press into his mind. _The Temple will grant you what you seek. The Darkness cannot find you._ There is a nudge on his mind, a request for permission and for trust. Caleb trusts. The Light enters him then, flooding his senses and lighting up the room around him. He’s doesn’t feel like himself anymore; he transforms into a conduit of the Force, radiating energy and power he’s never felt before. The Force shows him a vision, and this one is much more welcome than the last one.

_The Temple sealing itself, projecting a cloak over the entire area, masking the signatures. Like the Sith Temples on worlds like Zigoola and Malachor, the energy seeps into the entire planet, crops yield more fruit, rains come on the farms, and in the city a baby boy uses the Force for the first time unknowingly. This planet will be untouchable by the Dark Side for years to come. They will be safe here, and little, obscure Lothal will become a center point in the galaxy and the upcoming fight against the Empire._

He watches the movements his body makes like a third party. He and the Light are one in these moments.  He watches as he wanders through the Temple again, following a path he doesn’t know, but trusting the Force’s direction. He passes rooms and corridors and statues and comes face to face with a stone door. Slowly, it rumbles open, leaving him face to face with the rest of the Jedi. Master Shryne is in front of him in an instant.

Caleb opens his mouth and words that he doesn’t remember speaking flow out. “The Temple will grant you what you seek. The Darkness cannot find you.”

There is an ethereal touch to his voice, and the others look taken aback. He sees the room’s brightness decrease and a presence leaves him so quickly it feels like he’s nothing but a gaping hole where something powerful used to be. Master Shryne catches him as he crumbles to the floor, lowing him gently down and cradling him.

 And in his arms he allows himself to rest.  


	17. A Darker Hour is Nearing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited for the part after this y'all cannot believe.  
> Unbeta'd all mistakes mine. Last plot building session before we get into some action.

_Two Standard Months Later. Lothal Year 3258. Year 16, month 8 of the Great ReSynchronization:_

 

_He sees the two children again; they can’t be older than ten this time. The boy sits cross legged on black marble floor, one arm outstretched in a control exercise. He moves pieces of rock together to recreate a statue, holding certain pieces in place while rearranging others. It’s a hard exercise, learning how to hold one object in place while moving others._

_The girl stands across the expanse from him, running through forms and drills with a red blade. She moves through Form IV routines with relative ease, repeating the same pattern over and over to the point of exhaustion. Her movements are strong and he sees so much of himself in her. She finishes her rounds and walks to stand by the boy as a figure enters the room. They bow before him, and his heart twists._

Anakin sits up so fast he makes himself dizzy. These nightmares come in increasing intervals, and he becomes more and more convinced he’s seeing visions. He takes a few breaths, calming his shaking hands, and picks up a nearby datapad to see what time it is. 0800 Lothal time. Time for him to get up. Obi-Wan has just entered the room and stares at him, steaming cup of caf in his hands.

“Rex and the others brewed caf over the fires this morning. It’s a little bitter, but it’s better than nothing.”

He nods his thanks, gearing himself up for the practice he’s set to do today. He’s mastered walking with the Force—and in succession has had to deal with an innumerable number of puns from Ahsoka and Obi-Wan both—and now he’s going to try for something a little more physical. Walking used to drain his energy reserves quickly, but now he can do it indefinitely. Perhaps running, jumping, and fighting will end up the same. The downside is if he loses his focus, he loses his legs, and he’s taken more than a few falls because of this. For now, the solution is better than the alternative, but he still hasn’t quite come to terms with the idea that this may be permanent.

Caf drank, he gathers the Force up and imbues it into his legs. Pulling on his boots and belt, he heads down to what they’ve considered the training area for the time being. He wonders how many of the rooms they’ve converted are serving their original purpose and how many of them are having their original purpose ignored.

He enters the chamber to find Caleb and Obi-Wan working through some more advanced drills in Form III, Shryne watching with approval. Anakin moves to stand beside him, watching the other Jedi practice. It baffles him, how quickly Caleb has adjusted to a new Master. Shryne has trained many apprentices, so adding one more doesn’t strike him as odd. But Anakin doesn’t think he could’ve handled being reassigned so quickly if Obi-Wan had died. Even now, he can’t imagine living through this post-Order 66 galaxy without him.

Shryne leads over to him and mumbles, “Do you know, we asked Master Dralig to help teach Caleb, but he deferred us to Master Kenobi for his Form III practice. You should’ve seen the look on Obi-Wan’s face.”

“That sounds like Obi-Wan,” he laughs.

They finish their routine, and Caleb bows low, before rejoining Shryne on the sidelines. Anakin meets Obi-Wan’s eyes, and at his former Master’s inviting nod, he walks out into the center to stand in front of him. This is the part he’s been dreading, because it is entirely possible that this won’t work the way he’d planned.

“We agreed to start slowly,” Obi-Wan reminds him as Rex enters the room. “I’ve asked Rex to help us, since we have a shortage of training remotes. Because deflection requires movements and concentration on multiple factors, we’re starting with this.”

“I feel like a Padawan again,” he says, hanging his head. This feels humiliating.

“Well, do me a favour, and please don’t be as difficult this time.” Trust Obi-Wan to make him laugh when he’s feeling nervous.

“Don’t worry, General. It’s set to stun.”

“Fantastic.”

Anakin takes his lightsaber off his belt and ignites it for the first time in what feels like forever. The blue blade springs to life in his hands, and he can feel the familiar hum of the blade in the Force. Stars, he’s missed this. Rex waits for approval from across the room, and at Anakin’s nod, fires the first shot. He blocks the blast with relative ease, bringing his blade up horizontally across his chest and stepping back so that the shot hits the blade the way it should. His combined movements cause him to wobble a little, but he regains his balance for the next blast. Blocking and deflecting he can do; he is a Form V practitioner. Rex speeds up bit by bit, firing at different locations on Anakin’s body, and he deflects them all, proud of the progress his upper body has made. The lower half though still trembles, and even with the Force, he feels unsure of his footing. Rex fires three in rapid succession, and Anakin has to make three different pivots and steps to get to them, and on the third one, one of his legs gives and he lands in a crouch.

“I’m all right,” he waves off Obi-Wan’s aide and pulls himself back up to his feet. He goes for a few more rounds before Obi-Wan calls time.

“How do you feel?”

“I…still feel shaky. I don’t think I’m ready to try anything more yet.” It hurts to admit that out loud, especially because of the increasing number of dreams he’s been having. If his children are alive, every moment he wastes because he’s _useless_ puts them in danger.

His comm chimes, and he’s grateful for the distraction. Obi-Wan’s prodding would have to wait.

“Skywalker.”

_“Master Skywalker, we’ve got a message from Senator Organa on a secure channel.”_ He recognizes this voice as Breandán’s. The Padawan had jumped at the opportunity to help with communications and intelligence gathering, and he did a pretty decent job. _“He says he’s got a few updates on what’s happening inside the Empire.”_

“Tell him we’re on our way.”

Under the cover of night, a few of the clones had gone out to the Venators and brought in what communication equipment could be reworked into the Temple. Anakin and Splice worked for hours trying to get the wiring worked out, and after a long stream of endless frustration, finally got it hooked up and working a few days prior. They had to come up with coding for a whole new encryption and frequency combo and sent it to Bail Organa as soon as it was tested.

He stands in the center of the rings, blue hologram slightly grainy—transmitting through layers of rock would cause this—but even through the less than stellar visual quality, Anakin can tell he’s exhausted.

“Senator,” Obi-Wan starts, bowing lightly.

_“Master Kenobi. I have some news that you might be interested in.”_

The Jedi have slowly filed into the room one-by-one, lining the walls and waiting to hear the report. Bail takes a look at his audience, and begins to bring them up to speed.

_“They’ve used the bioweapon twice more on a smaller scale than last time. The falling of the Temple on Belsavis has been broadcast all over the galaxy. Sidious has begun expansion efforts into the Outer Rim, and there are rumors of an alliance with the Hutt clans. He has a new lackey that is always appearing behind him. She’s in armour most of the time, but my sources have managed to snag a photograph. They’re calling her an Inquisitor.”_

A photo of Barriss Offee floats next to his image on the holotransmitter. Ahsoka’s gasp fills an otherwise silent room. The shock on her face is mirrored by others around the room.

_“Her task seems to be hunting down Jedi and Force-Sensitive children, but she’s recently come back with a Pau’an male who appears to be training alongside her. The biggest piece of information I’ve received comes straight from Lothal itself. They are welcoming the Empire with open arms, hoping to increase exports of their mining supplies off world. Imperial officials will be arriving within the week. This is all I can provide at this time, but I’ll keep you posted of Imperial efforts on Lothal.”_

“Thank you, Senator. And if we can be of service, let us know.”  Obi-Wan ends the transmission and turns to face the room. “Because we are few, I would ask any Jedi in the room who has received the rank of Knight or Master to stay and assist us in a discourse concerning how we should move forward. All others are free to stay and observe or return to your studies.”

Once the Padawans and Ahsoka file out, eight of them remain.

“The Imperial presence on Lothal may become an issue. Many of us are wanted and recognizable.” Shaak Ti speaks first. “Perhaps we should look for another location.”

Anakin jumps to disagree. “No. I’m tired of running.” All eyes turn on him. “Forgive me, Masters, but I am. Look, I remember history classes when I was a Padawan. Every time the Sith emerged, they chased us off whatever planet we were on. Every. Single. Time. Dantooine, The Sacking, Ossus, and so many others. Even now, we left Coruscant, we’ve been chased off Belsavis. I am tired of running. Years ago, there were thousands of Sith running around the galaxy, but now there’s only one, and I’m not going to keep running away from one man.”

“Well said, Skywalker.” Dralig nods in agreement.

“Many of the Padawans won’t be recognizable. Ahsoka’s not even a Jedi anymore. They can easily go into the cities and retrieve supplies without being noticeable.”

“If in favour you are, of remaining on Lothal, speak now your vote.”

Six ayes are raised.

Roan Shryne clears his throat. “I think we need to discuss the gundark in the room. There are eight of us standing in this room. There are twenty-three students and eight of us. We need to look for other survivors. Maybe it’s time we send another message.”

“I could send another.” Obi-Wan states. “The only problem is, the best way to do that is to use the communications center in the Temple on Coruscant. Which is completely under Imperial control.”

“And if a large number of us go, Sidious will sense us. Obi-Wan and I can at least hide our signatures from him if need be. We can go.”

“Confident are you, Skywalker, that ready to go in the field, you are?” Leave it to Yoda to call out his insecurities in front of the group.

“Not at all. But I have to try eventually. And so long as we aren’t dueling anyone, we should be fine.”

A somber weight settles over the room. “Then I suppose Anakin and I will head for Coruscant.”


	18. With Heavy Hearts Here We Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long.  
> Unbeta'd , all mistakes mine.
> 
> Onto the Show!

Ashoka returns from the city with a change of clothes for her and Obi-Wan and Anakin. Anakin asks who the third is for, but Obi-Wan knows before he does that Ahsoka has volunteered herself to go with them. This is the same stunt Anakin used to pull, but unlike when he was a Padawan and Obi-Wan could force him to stay behind, Ahsoka is no longer his student. If she wants to go, neither of them can stop her.

This whole mission feels rushed. The “deliberation” they had had days ago turned out to be more of a “here’s what we’re doing.” Anakin is nowhere near ready to partake on this kind of mission, and Obi-Wan is well aware of all of his unvoiced insecurities. So it’s a bit of a surprise when he volunteers to take on this reckless task.

A surprise, but not, entirely, an unwelcome one. This is the Anakin he knows, and it’s nice to see him getting back to it.

The three of them use a captured vessel onboard one of the Venators to get into the air. Anakin’s face lights up the moment he sits in the pilot’s seat. His face falls a little after they breach the atmosphere and set the navicomputer’s hyperspace route, allowing autopilot to take over, but Obi-Wan knows any little thing he can do is worth it.

The two Jedi and their Togrutan counterpart sit down on the floor of the small vessel and begin an intense preparation for their mission. They would be using a modified version of Battle Meditation to help combine and mask their signatures and provide a way to communicate through the Force. Not for the first time, Obi-Wan wishes one of them were a telepath.

It’s odd to have the three of them this close again. After her leaving, so much changed. So much of Anakin changed. But her return There’s a lingering awkwardness around Ahsoka and the fact that she’s not really a Jedi anymore, and there is more than one Council member among them who voted in favour of her leaving. Nevertheless, she carries herself with pride and holds her own among her former brothers and sisters in a way that Obi-Wan is not quite certain he could have if he’d left the Orders all those years ago.

After they meld themselves together, deep enough to be useful, not deep enough to be invasive, the rest of the trip goes by in near total silence. The gravity of this mission weighs on all of them, and they can feel the darkness around them thicken the closer to the Core they get. It unsettles Obi-Wan to have his homeworld feel so different, and while it feels different from Zigoola—the Sith aren’t seeping into his mind and body—he still wonders how being on the planet will affect them.

They drop out of hyperspace and find the upper atmosphere littered with Imperial ships. Coruscant’s normally beautiful surface is marred by massive grey ships and dozens of fighter escorts.  As they inch closer, one bearing a barely painted over symbol of the Open Circle fleet hails them.

“ _This is Imperial Cruiser_ Resolute _hailing. Please send appropriate codes for entry permissions.”_

Anakin recognizes the name immediately, and Obi-Wan pulls him out of the way so that Ahsoka can reply. She’s less recognizable than the two of them, and the touch of a Coruscanti accent she adds to her reply seals the deal. She sends the stolen codes provided by Bail, and they clear security with no problems. Anakin takes control of the ship again, following their “approved pathway” until he can get further into the city and ditch it. They land on a landing pad in a sketchier area of Coruscant. Lightsabers hidden out of sight, they exit the transport, covering their faces with the hoods and covers provided. Anakin mumbles something about looking like a Tusken Raider, before securing the ship.

“I figure we’ve got two or three days at most before they check the travel logs and realize we never reached our destination.” His former Padawan says as they walk toward a transport station. “We’ll have to get into the Temple and get out quickly.”

“We should split up; enter separately.” Obi-Wan whispers as they pay for public transport to the Senate district. They created their alibi on the flight here, each of them knew it well enough to be convincing. As refugees from worlds shattered by the Clone Wars seeking refuge within the Empire, they won’t turn many heads.

The three of them get off at the same stop in the Senate District, before going their separate ways. They’ll approach the Temple from three different locations, taking care to avoid Imperial patrols. They’re taking a massive risk going in through the Senate area, Sidious being so close to them. Obi-Wan tries to shake the feeling of cold and despair he feels in the air around him. He used to love this planet. He might have been born on Stewjon, but this, _this_ is his homeworld.

He adjusts his ragged looking black clothes, making sure his head covering is in place. He feels odd without his Jedi tunics, but at least they gave him layers. He supposes he’ll take that small comfort. He walks past the crowds of citizens and other refuges crowding senators, pushing in on them, begging for a chance to plead their case. He notices a few men wearing badly painted over Republic armour heading in his direction. The covering on his head won’t hide his face if they get too close, so he turns his back to them more and casts his eyes over the concourse. He spots a group of refuges and citizens standing not too far away. He weaves through them, and because he can’t use the Force to help him blend in and move even quieter, he has to gently pass through group by group, until he can get to a place where he can descend to the lower levels unnoticed. He glances over his shoulder to see the Imperials following him. He ducks around a corner looking for a place to lie low until he loses their attention. There are a few decorative trees on this side of the concourse, bushy enough at the top to hide a person. This side lacks crowds for him to hide in, so he jumps up into the tree before the Imperials turn the corner.

Staring down at them from his perch, he waits to see their next move.

One of them leans to another. “I told you we should’ve shot him.”

“Shut up, Cody. We’re not even sure that was the refugee that cause the disruption.”

 _Cody._ His former commander and friend, who opened fire on him without a second thought, stood beneath him now.

He sucks in a breath and leans against the trunk of the tree. He prays that none of the branches crack and fall, else he’s not sure where he’ll go. That would certainly make a scene. He waits for them to move on, further down the terrace, and when they’re away, he jumps down, daring to use the Force a little to cushion his landing. Bolting to the edge, he jumps down on to a ledge a few meters down. There is a small turbolift here for the maintenance droids that will take him down to the lower levels. He’ll come up to the Temple from the bottom, scaling the walls up to the air vents. It sounds simple enough, and even the incident with the clones and the turbolift being incredibly small, he feels like this is going better than he expected. He sends a question through the Force to Anakin and Ahsoka, checking on their progress. He receives back images of different zones near the base of the Temple, showing that they’re getting close.

He reaches the base of the Temple, and prepares his grapple. To climb the ziggurat would be an ordeal, but before he begins to climb, he notices a few things out of place. There are metal plates in certain areas, only slightly discoloured compared to the others. He recognizes them immediately. Pressure Plates. There are sparks of electricity jumping on them in intervals that suggest malicious intent. Sidious has fortified.

As he climbs he dares to look upward through the Force, hoping to catch any new obstacles before he stumbles across them. For a moment, he sees a flash of an image in front of his eyes—but it isn’t his eyes that see it. Ahsoka has frantically sent a warning. There are turrets lining the edge underneath the vent openings, and she believes they are motion activated.

At the top of the wall he sees them, but not before he hears one activate and train its sights on him. The turret makes a scanning noise, as if looking for movement, so he stills, not daring to breathe. Two others join the first in looking his direction, lasers passing over his body. He reaches out with the Force again, praying they’ll go on unnoticed, and tries to find the turrets’ connections to their power sources. But Anakin, knowing his action as he takes it, sends a warning.

 _If one or more go offline, they’ll notice the discrepancy._ His message is tinged with exhaustion, and Obi-Wan can feel the weakness in Anakin’s muscles seeping into him. Such is the danger of a meld this deep. He knows Ahsoka feels it, too.

So instead of cutting their power, he follows the Force to a wire that seems to cut their motion sensors. Tentatively, he eases forward until he reaches a height where he can jump up on to the ledge. He tells the other two that he’s reached the top at the same time they do. He opens a space in the force-field for him to pass through, and careful steps into an air vent.

The three of them meet at a junction on one of the upper levels. They move forward without a word, communication unnecessary. They know the others decisions as they make them. Scanning the Temple for other lifeforms doesn’t take long. The Temple is deserted, and Obi-Wan has to fight back a gag each time they walk by the decaying, rotting corpse of a fellow Jedi. The Sith didn’t even have the decency to give them a cremation, choosing instead to let them fade away into nothing. It sickens him. And he can feel the others stomachs churning too.

Perhaps the hardest thing for Obi-Wan is walking through the hallways of his home and not recognizing them. The Force seems in constant mourning here, and the feeling of death nearly overwhelms him. Ahsoka walks through these halls remembering as well, and he catches flashes of her as a youngling, running through these halls without a weight on her shoulders. Both of them grieve anew as they wander the Temple, aimlessly following the path to the communications center from memory.

Something is wrong with Anakin though, and it becomes more and more clear as they near the center, the cloud of death hanging over them almost suffocating now. He is in pain, but not from his exertion of walking and scaling a wall. No, Obi-Wan recognizes the feeling of this pain; it is similar to what he felt after Geonosis and his losing his arm. The Force is causing his body to remember the pain it felt when he was last here, and eventually he lets out a cry and drops to his knees, shaking. Obi-Wan kneels at his side, trying to help him release his pain to the Force in a way that won’t attract attention.

But all of his and Ahsoka’s efforts fail as the onslaught of memories crashes over Anakin, so strong that both of them reel from it, seeing horrors they’d only imagined, feeling his pain rack through their bodies. With a loud cry he pushes his pain as far from him as he possibly can, slamming into Obi-Wan and Ahsoka’s minds where they had been trying to aid him. The Force screams and shakes around them, before settling back into its quiet state.

Anakin sags against him, breathing heavily, body trembling. He whispers, “I’m so sorry.”

Ahsoka kneels next to them and hugs his arm; Obi-Wan holds him up, to keep him from hitting the floor. “You’ve done nothing wrong, Anakin.”

But a darkness awakens, stirring so quickly that the three of them freeze in place. Panic runs through them, and the Dark seems to laugh in their faces at it slithers through the Temple.

Sidious felt the burst. He knows they’re here.


	19. The angry powers of darkness assault my soul in every part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd, all mistakes mine.  
> Coruscant Continued.

They have limited time; all of them can feel Coruscant based divisions of troopers heading their direction. Obi-Wan tries to get Anakin back on his feet, but he finds himself unable to focus enough to get the Force into his legs.

“I just need a minute. Go, send the message.”

Obi-Wan casts a skeptical look over his shoulder, but he nods at Ahsoka and the two take off. The communications array is shut down, so Ahsoka sets to work, trying to get it reactivated. Obi-Wan gets the range settings set up, so that as soon as it comes back online, he can send a coded message. Jedi coding is almost impossible to intercept, so they should be able to get the message off with no problem.

Ahsoka gets the holo-recoreder set up, Obi-Wan takes a deep breath, and they record their message.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Anakin leans up against the wall Obi-Wan had propped him against. His limbs still tremble, and he can’t manage to get the Force to work with his legs again. He feels Sidious coming, knows he’ll be here in a matter of minutes, and he each time he tries and fails to stand his panic rises. Ahsoka and Obi-Wan are doing what they came here to do, and he’s sitting slumped against the wall like an invalid.

In the midst of his self-loathing, he is struck by an idea. He closes his eyes, takes a few breaths, and reaches out into the Force, feeling for movement around the Temple. Maybe he can get a head count of how many there are headed his way. One by one, he sees the groups surrounding the Temple, sending each image to his teammates to keep them aware. By the time he’s reached the sixth group, the number of troops are staggering, but this one has a special feature. He can sense not one, but three Force-wielders, led by Sidious himself. The Dark Lord senses his mental probing and lashes out before Anakin can pull away. The wave jolts through the group of them, and now Sidious has felt each of them. He knows there are only three of them here now.

 _I’m sorry._ He tells his former Master and apprentice. _I’m so sorry,_

He drags himself to his feet, leaning on the wall as he wrestles the Force back into his legs. He gets stood up securely by the time Ahsoka and Obi-Wan get back to him.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Ahsoka calls out as they approach him.

“I-I can’t get my legs to cooperate.”

She and Obi-Wan get on either side of him, and help him get moving. But Anakin can feel they aren’t moving fast enough, can feel their enemy getting closer. It isn’t long before they hear the sounds of hundreds of footprints storming through the Temple. They can’t move fast enough carrying him, and he knows it, but asking them to leave him won’t do any good. So he desperately tries to get the Force moving through his legs, anything he can do to help them.

Their enemies bound closer and closer, Sidious at the head. Anakin feels that a confrontation is brewing; he hopes they can get away before Sidious finds them. Anakin felt the quick deaths of Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar; three of the best swords masters in the Order, cut down in an instant.

There is no way the three of them would last long against a small army and a Dark Lord of the Sith, and two hooded figures moving behind him.

Turning the corner back to the way Obi-Wan came in, Anakin’s mind races. How would they get out if they are, in fact, surrounded? Once they get out, how in the nine Corellian Hells would they get to their ship and get out of atmosphere? Sidious would have the entire fleet prepped and ready to attack. Coruscant would become their grave.

Obi-Wan stops suddenly, looking at Anakin. He feels it, too. Standing in the center of one of the larger open spaces of the Temple, they watch clones seep out from the walls and from the behind the pillars. Their blasters locked on to them, they form a circle around them surrounding them at all sides.

“Can you stand?” Obi-Wan whispers.

“I think so.”

He gets his legs to stand where they are, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka drawing their lightsabers. The two figures behind Sidious draw theirs as well, double-ended, red blades. Neither side moved, warily watching the others. One of the masses of clones splits straight down the middle, and Anakin feels darkness rush in between them. He shudders, almost losing his feet, and he feels Obi-Wan and Ahsoka shiver beside him. Sidious’ hooded figure walks in between them.

“There is nowhere to run to, Jedi.” He spits as he approaches. “Anakin, my boy, you’re looking well.”

Anakin says nothing, refusing to look at him. “My Master has a lot to do with that.”

“Ah, yes, Master Kenobi. Do you know I called Commander Cody _personally_ , in my attempt to rid my plans of this one, irritating _stain_?”

A flare of anger across their meld, and Anakin can’t tell who it came from. He pulled his own saber off his belt and ignited it, knowing he would be useless if the time came.

“You have but one option.” Fearsome power resides in his voice, reminiscent of how Caleb’s voice had been when he acted as a conduit for the Light. “Kenobi and the Togruta die, and Anakin comes with me.”

The air cracks with tension. Obi-Wan draws the Force up within him, and Anakin shudders again. Sometimes he forgets just how powerful his teacher really is. Sidious responds in kind, and this whole thing reminds him of a scene in a holofilm. Those scenes where the heroes stand surrounded, outnumbered, seemingly doomed before reinforcements sweep in and the battle begins. But this time, there will be no help, no aid. They are on their own.

Silence stretches onward. Finally, Obi-Wan speaks. “You’re mistaken if you think I’ll let you have him.”

“Master Kenobi,” he smiles, a disturbing smile, and Anakin feels a warning in the Force. “I’m afraid you won’t have a choice.”

Anakin sees Sidious’ mouth moving, but he doesn’t hear the words. The Force shows him flashes of images: Clones raising their blasters, shots from all sides mowing them down in a second. He watches their bodies fall to the floor as if floating from above and then a whisper from the Force: _The Temple is built on a well of the Force. Use it._

He is back in his own body in a moment and hears the end of Sidious’ statement. He reaches into the well and draws up energy, storing and storing, feeling his body vibrate power. It feels like Mortis all over again. Through their meld, he shouts at his companions. _Drop! Now!_

Feeling his power and the rushed fear in his words they obey, and Anakin drops his lightsaber to the ground, blade deactivating as it falls. He pulls his arms into his chests and flings them outward, at the same time the clones fire their blasters. He puts his trust in the Force, and lets it flow through him. His concentrated wave of energy meets the blue blasts in mid-air, pushing them back at the troopers, and pushing the men around them back. The two with red blades are thrown back hard against two columns, before slumping harshly to the floor. They fall backwards like field grass underneath wind, hitting the cold, stone floor of the Temple.

Sidious falls, too. Anakin can feel him thrashing underneath the Light.

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka look at him, astounded, and catch him as he collapses.

“Ahsoka, we have to move fast.” Obi-Wan pulls Anakin back up to his feet. “Move. Use the Force to help us carry him.”

They run, Anakin securely between them. It wouldn’t take the army long to get back after them. Fleeing the Temple for the second time in his life, Anakin tries to plan a way out for them. Once inside the vents where Obi-Wan had entered, they proceed with caution. Obi-Wan looks ahead of them, sensing for troopers outside the Temple. Seeing what he sees, Anakin breathes a sigh of relief. No fighters. No outside security. Sidious hadn’t expected them to leave.

“We have to jump,” Ahsoka says, grimly.

“Or in my case, fall.” Anakin smiles in an attempt to lighten the mood.

They catch sight of a cargo transport with an open top coming their direction. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka throw Anakin as they jump, guiding the three of them to land softly in the among carriage full of hard, round fruit. They press themselves further down into the fruit, to hide themselves from speeders passing by overhead. From his viewpoint underneath a cluster of meiloorun, Anakin sees their images flash across every screen on Coruscant with the word _Fugitives_ written underneath. All of Coruscant would be watching for them.

Ahsoka presses a question across their weakening link. _What now?_

Melding this deeply for an extended period of time is exhausting, and adding that to the near death experience they had a few moments ago, the three of them are unraveling. They need rest, and Anakin would like to have his mind to himself for a bit. But now, he and Obi-Wan would have to stay melded indefinitely to keep him from being sensed by Sidious.

The answer comes in the form of a picture. Their ship, hidden on a non-descript landing platform in the bowels of Coruscant. Getting there becomes the unspoken challenge. And this ship is going in the wrong direction. They feel a shift in their flight path, and Anakin wrinkles his nose at the familiar smell of the food processing sector.

They sneak out of the carriage as soon as the transport settles on the ground. Moving quickly, they find a condemned apartment building and hole themselves up in a room toward the back of the complex, on the center floor. The abandoned room sits dusty and dark. There is no running water, but a basic sleep couch sits in one corner across from a ragged looking couch. Obi-Wan deposits Anakin onto the sleep couch, as close to the wall as he can manage. Anakin lies down pressing his back against the freezing metal wall with a shudder; Obi-Wan sits down on the bed next to him.

Ahsoka pulls ration bars out of a small pack on her belt, handing one to each of them before settling on the couch. Looking across at her former Master she asks, “Are you all right, Anakin?”

He swallows his bite and closes his eyes, saddened. “I can’t get the Force to work with me.”

Obi-Wan gives him a short, sympathetic nod. “We can check on that. Ahsoka, get some rest. We can’t move with all of Coruscant on high alert.”

Ahsoka rolls over, putting her back to them. Anakin feels Obi-Wan’s hand settle on his shoulder. He feels a slight pressure on his mind, Obi-Wan asking for permission to deeper their ever present meld. Together, they disconnect from Ahsoka. Anakin hates that cautious but determined feeling in Obi-Wan’s mind. He is going to do his hardest to fix this problem, even in his already exhausted state. But instead of fighting, as he once would have, he lets Obi-Wan’s consciousness shift into a healing state. Both of them struggle to quiet their minds after the events of today, Sidious’ shadow hanging over them.

“Stop feeling guilty,” Obi-Wan mutters, sounding dazed as he sinks further into a trance. He pushes the Force into Anakin’s legs, into each and every cell. Anakin responds to the silent command to move them, and in this moment, surrounded by the Light and aided in his focus by Obi-Wan, his legs cooperate. Which frustrates him.

“I don’t understand. Why now and not earlier? What changed?”

Still sunk in the Force, Obi-Wan says, “Perhaps it’s a…block of some kind? When you were last in the Temple, you experienced horrible things. Perhaps the amount of Dark Side energy overwhelmed you, and your mind couldn’t get past it.” He pulls away slowly, still maintaining the meld of their signatures, an act that is almost second nature now. “Don’t linger on it. We can run more tests once we get away.”

“We have to actually get away first.”

Obi-Wan nods, sober. “Worry about that later. Rest now.”

Anakin leans back against the wall, Obi-Wan settles down on the sleep couch, back to him. He tries to ignore the busy thrum of activity that Coruscant radiates with, doing everything he can to quiet his mind and go to sleep. He needs it, so do the other two. So he focuses on the familiar signatures that occupy the room with him and closes his eyes.

He can’t wait to get off this kriffing planet.

But he can’t help but feel like there is something here he’s missing. Something he needs to retrieve before he leaves.


	20. Fill all my vision, that I may see

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this took forever.  
> But yay! Plot and stuff!  
> Unbeta'd, all mistakes mine.

Caleb misses Coruscant. He misses the city, the Temple, the security. There are plenty of places to hide on Coruscant if one needs to get away from unfriendly eyes. Lothal is so open, the cities are tiny, and instead of secure nooks and crannies to hide in Lothal has given them immense plains. If the Empire ever truly wants to find them here, they will have no problem. It makes Caleb nervous.

His Master stands next to him, brown robes exchanged for blues. He makes a point to barter with each shop owner they encounter, and Caleb can’t understand why he finds it so entertaining. Most of the time, Master Shryne succeeds in getting them a lower price for buying in bulk. Last time though, things got a bit heated. Caleb rubs his arm where the thrown meiloorun had hit. His arm is sure to bruise.

Shryne thanks their current shop-owner and throws another crate on their palet, before taking hold of the handles and giving her a polite bow. They leave the city shortly after, pushing their hover-palet toward the Lothal Temple. Caleb follows dutifully behind his Master, hoping to get decently far into their journey before stopping for the night. He’s eager to spend a night out under the stars, like he did with Master Billaba.

They settle down on the other side of a small hill; they brought no tent with them, no shelter. Jedi are trained to sleep with minimal comforts. He lays down in the tall grass, head pillowed on his hands. A soft wind blows across the plains, and if he thinks hard enough, he can almost picture being on a mission with Master Billaba, just a few months ago. Ever since the moment in the Temple when he became a conduit for the Force, he would have these moments where he could touch something—another being, an animal, a blade of grass—and be able to _feel_ the life inside it, like the living Force is reaching out to him, reminding him that he is not alone. It’s an odd feeling, but not an unwelcome one. He and Master Shryne bid each other good night, and Caleb closes his eyes and enjoys the breeze and the swaying of the grass around him until he falls asleep.

_Images of the Temple, defiled by the Dark and its army. Three Jedi—no two, the female didn’t resonate like a Jedi in the Force—standing surrounded. Feelings washed over him: fear and anger and panic and power and a surge of Light. He sees the group escaping, awed by the display he’d witnessed._

_It shifts. Coruscant, beautiful and full of lights and life. A cargo transport of fruit. Three exhausted Force Wielders taking refuge in an abandoned apartment complex, seemingly safe. But the Darkness creeps closer and the Force screams a warning that jolts through him. He hears screaming, and realizes it’s his own voice, the Force continues to shout until—_

“Caleb!” A low voice, hands on his shoulders, a familiar presence.

His eyes shoot open. Master Shryne’s face fills his gaze, concern etched in his features. “Master,” he starts slowly, “I think Master Kenobi is in trouble.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Obi-Wan worries about Anakin’s condition far more than is healthy. His body hasn’t recovered fully, and he fears there will be lingering issue because of how fast they have pushed Anakin’s body to heal. Even more troublesome is the fact that his legs quit working earlier, when the Sith arrived. Are they connected in some way? Does the Dark affect the healing Light that Anakin is using to help his cause?

Obi-Wan doesn’t know. And it scares him.

Palpatine knows they’re here, and it won’t be long before he finds them. Every minute they spend on this planet the risk goes up, but they haven’t figured out a way to get off-world yet. Coruscant remains on high alert. He hoped they’d be able to get away before they had to risk calling for help. Now, he’s not so sure. He risks peeking through the almost covered window, and spots troops moving into this section by the dozen. There’s no way they’d be able to get past them, not even if Anakin’s legs were cooperating.

He hears a groan behind him. Anakin stirs to consciousness. “What’s going on out there?”

“Sidious has moved troops to all corners of Coruscant. Even under the cover of night we’ll have a hard time getting off-world.” Obi-Wan takes a breath before mentioning his suggestion. “We need to split up. You and Ahsoka go together, and I’ll meet up with you—“

“And risk all of us not being able to get off-world? Are you kidding me?”

That’s the reaction he was waiting for. Obi-Wan breathes a silent prayer. _Force, give me strength._ “Anakin, they’ll be looking for us in threes. Your…malfunction…in the Temple might have been a blessing, because Sidious may now believe that we must stay together to support you.”

“But—”

“This may be our best chance. And Anakin, he cannot take you. We need you; the Order needs you.” He smiles then, attempting to disarm his former apprentice, if only a little. “And I am perfectly capable of handling myself without you, you know.”

“Tell that to Jabiim and Zigoola.” He sighs, and Obi-Wan hears the defeat in his voice. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“I’ll leave soon; perhaps I can draw their attention long enough for Ahsoka to get you out of here. We could take separate ships; I wonder if Dex would still be willing to help me.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Ahsoka hates every part of this plan. Anakin does too, but he’s being surprisingly quiet about it. They’ve settled their packs, and Anakin has done some walking and jumping in their borrowed rooms. His legs are in fine working order, for now.

“You two know how to reach the ship, but be careful. Landing pads could be under surveillance. We should meet before Lothal to throw the Empire off our scent.”

“Pelagon is a mining planet. It’s in the Colonial region, just before the Inner Rim. We could meet there and then continue on.”

Obi-Wan nods. “Pelagon it is. We don’t have any more time to lose. Remember that Sidious has two other Force-users on his side. They are most certainly on the hunt. May the Force be with both of you.”

“May the Force be with you, Master.”

He leaves then, and Ahsoka hopes he’ll be alright. Anakin doesn’t need another loss, not now. They wait another hour before they head out too, well under the cover of night. Ahsoka has covered every visible part of her body except her arms, hoping to pass off as a member of the DeoSoli religion from the corners of the Mid Rim. Females in this faith are the workers, their arms and hands being their most prized part, and the men beseech their gods on behalf of their wives’ work, praying for fruitful labour. Anakin, in accordance to tradition, is completely covered again, and Ahsoka takes a piece of orange fabric off the couch and ties it around the head covering, giving him rank.

“Ready for this?”

“As ever.” His voice muffled by the layers of fabric. “Let’s get off this planet.”

Ahsoka and Anakin leave out the back door of the complex, onto a different street. This one is cluttered with vendors and booths, selling wares from all over the galaxy. The crowds clear as they walk through, well aware of the punishments that the DeoSoli religion requires if they are touched by an outsider. Ahsoka remembers a time when streets would clear because they were Jedi, and they didn’t want to hinder the Order’s work. How quickly things have changed.

She stiffens as a group of clone troops pass them by, but Anakin keeps his head high, pushing right through. Ever confident.

As soon as they pass this district, they manage to board transportation headed for the upper levels. It is crowded with people, but still they scatter, leaving the two of them room to be untouched in the back corner of the vessel. Many of them cast glances in their direction, but Ahsoka takes a lesson from Anakin and lets it roll off of her. They don’t suspect them; they’re just curious of their “adopted” faith. That’s all.

They exit on the level where their ship rests, not too far from the landing platform. They weave through the crowd again, stepping off at the station. A warning brushes her mind in the Force. She knows Anakin feels it too. She looks across to the landing platform and sees one of the two figures that had been with Sidious. This one is smaller, moves with more grace. Female? If so, her movements seemed familiar.

With no other clear route to the ship, the two of them started toward the ship, Ahsoka’s hand resting on her lightsaber where it hangs under her poncho. She has a sinking feeling they won’t get out of this without a fight. The figure looks up at them as they approach, and comes toward them, but her mask is open in the front and Ahsoka’s heart stutters.

“Why has your ship not been registered?” The voice of Barriss Offee asks them.

Her friend, her _best_ friend at the Temple, who had been turned traitor and cast out stood before her now. So much for not wanting to hurt her brothers and sisters; now she hunts them.

Ahsoka hopes she will get to be the one to take her down.

Anakin speaks first, accent changed into something she doesn’t recognize, and he pitches his voice lower. “We have no official paperwork, as the gods discourage us from interacting with governments that are not our own. At this moment, the Empire doesn’t not control us. But no matter. We have concluded our practices here and wish to return home.”

She scoffs. “At this moment. That may change soon enough.”

Barriss looks them over once, twice, and Ahsoka’s nerves continue to rise. If they fight here they are too open, easily targeted by Imperial fighters and troop brigades. And she’s not sure how well Anakin will hold up if the Dark Side comes at him in full force again.

“You may go. Respect and Peace to you, DeoSoli’ra.”

Ahsoka and Anakin both give the customary parting gesture, and get on the ship as quickly as possible. As soon as the ramp lifts, Anakin throws off his veil and starts the engines, peeling off into the air. Ahsoka feels him reaching for Obi-Wan in the Force, and he looks frustrated.

“We never should have split up.” Anakin slams his fist down on the console. “That stubborn barve has gone the complete opposite direction of any possible ships. I bet he hasn’t even talked to Dex!” He looks at her. “And I can sense his determination; like he’s on a mission of some kind. _Firefek!_ ”

At his last curse, she jumps back a little, feeling his anger roll off of him. “Anakin,” she steps forward slowly and lays a hand on his arm. “We can’t go back now. We risk getting all three of us caught and killed. Master Kenobi can take care of himself. Trust him. But we need to go.”

Cursing again, he hangs his head and breaks atmosphere. He keys in the coordinates for Pelagon without hesitation. “We’re not leaving Pelagon until Obi-Wan gets there. And he _better_ get there.”

And they jump into hyperspace.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Obi-Wan can feel Anakin probing his mind for a status update. He’s going to be furious once he realizes what’s going on, but Obi-Wan hopes Ahsoka will be able to speak sense to him. He sends back a wave of reassurance and calm, before letting his mind go quiet again.

The information Dex has given him is…incomplete, to say the least. But it has narrowed down the places and people Obi-Wan will need to visit. He has to know for certain that Anakin’s visions are true, after he failed so miserably with his mother, but Anakin needs to be safely off-world first. He made the mistake of turning away last time, and it had almost lost him a Padawan and a friendship. He won’t risk losing him this time.

He will find out if Anakin’s children are still alive. He’ll bring all of them back in one piece; he owes Anakin that much.


	21. Veil Your Face to His Presence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is shorter than normal and took so long. I have successfully finished finals week and can hopefully devote more attention to this fic.
> 
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.

Obi-Wan needs to disguise himself. Covering his face and body will only work for so long, and the extra weight hinders his movements. Getting into the Senate District would be a challenge already, So for a rather large sum of credits he acquires the same kind of serum that made him look like Rako Hardeen when he went undercover, as well as some new clothes and dye for his hair. This time he buys the reversing serum too. The picture he gives his supplier is a holo of his biological father. Obi-Wan looked up his birth family years ago and discovered he took more after his mother’s side. He would look different enough to get by.

He finds a secluded inn that he knows has a reputation of no questions asked. Once inside, he locks the door and tears off his layers. He headed for the fresher and threw down his backpack. Bracing himself—he hated this last time—he injected the needle into the skin of his neck, gripping the sink to help him bite back a scream.

Moments later the pain has passed, and he looks up into the grey eyes of his birth father. His jaw is stronger, his nose less pointed. His father isn’t an unattractive man, but Obi-Wan can say for certain that wearing someone else’s face never gets easier. He rubs the black dye in his hair while listening to recordings of the Stewjonian senator.

Black hair and beard, grey eyes, new accent: Obi-Wan feels confident his disguise will work. Anakin wouldn’t recognize him if he saw him now.

Which brings him to his next task: encoding a message to the rest of the Jedi to get Anakin off of Pelagon, because as soon as he realizes what Obi-Wan is doing, he’ll come speeding back toward Coruscant. He ignores the hint of guilt he feels when he hits send. This is for Anakin’s own good, he’d see that.

He just hopes he’ll be able to be forgiven for another deception.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

It’s been three rotations, and Anakin is losing his mind. No sign of or word from his master, and it takes every bit of self-control he has to keep him from taking off and dragging his Master out of whatever hole he’s landed himself in.

Ahsoka’s been bouncing a small ball off of the wall for hours now; she has become as stir-crazy as he has. They left the ship a few hours ago to find something to eat.

The ship’s communicator chimes. _It’s about time, Obi-Wan._ But when he answers it, it’s not Obi-Wan. It’s Yoda.

_No. No. I can feel that he’s alive. If he weren’t, I would know._ He gets himself under control, just. “Master Yoda. I’m surprised you contacted us.” He glanced at Ahsoka, on her feet now and standing right beside him. “What’s happened?”

_“Anakin, return to Lothal at once, you must.”_

“But Obi-Wan is still—”

_“Capable do you believe your former Master to be?”_ at Anakin’s nod he continues, _“Then return to us you must. An assignment we have for you.”_

Anakin stares at him, incredulous. Leave Obi-Wan? Is Yoda out of his mind? Neither of them have ever been good at obeying that type of order. If something went wrong, he wouldn’t be able to reach him facts enough from Lothal. Then again, Sidious knows that where Kenobi is, Skywalker is sure to follow, and if one of them is found—here or on Coruscant—the odds of the other escaping are slim. He hates Yoda for putting them in this position, and he hates himself for listening to Obi-Wan’s “I’ll be right behind you” speech.

“I’ll return at once, Master Yoda,” Anakin grits out between his teeth. “Skywalker out.”

He sees Ahsoka looking at him, but her face isn’t accusatory. Instead she looks at him with sadness and a touch of determination.

“You go; I’ll stay.”

“What? Ahsoka, you can’t.”

“My leaving the Order grants me some protection, and my face is not as known as yours. Plus, I can escape faster, because…well…”

_My legs work_ goes unsaid. Anakin concedes she’s making fair points, but leaving her behind, vulnerable to the Empire? Padawan or not, he wants to take care of her. He goes to protests again, but she cuts him off.

“I survived on my own without you after I left, Anakin. You taught me how to take care of myself.” She gives him a smug grin. “Also, you can’t exactly order me to go. Not my Master anymore, remember.”

This sounds dangerously close to Padmé’s argument about going to get Obi-Wan on Geonosis, but Ahsoka technically is right. Who is he to take her back with him against her will?

“Alright. But lay low. And send me an encoded check in every so often. You know the channel.”

She picks up her things and walks down the ramps and out into the city. Anakin closes up and takes off into the sky without hesitation—if he waits, he may stay—and sets the coordinates for Lothal. He hates running, hates leaving his friends—his _family—_ behind, and though this isn’t the first time he’s been asked to do this it never gets easier.

But he knows that now is not the time to get rebellious. If he runs back to Coruscant, they’ll get caught, and Anakin is not going to watch this Master suffer that kind of torture again. Sidious will make him suffer, so that Anakin suffers, and if he does kill Obi-Wan, Anakin’s not sure he can keep himself from going over to the Dark Side. He’d kill Sidious, but he doesn’t think he’d be able to do it with the Light. So to save himself and Obi-Wan and the rest of the Order, he does what he has to do.

He goes home.

_May the Force be with both of you._

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Obi-Wan hated this place _before_ the Empire took over. Now, he can barely stand to be on the red floored expanse, but he can’t leave until he finds Bail. He can imagine the Senator’s reaction when he finds out that Obi-Wan is on Coruscant. He’d seen the man angry on Zigoola, but he has a feeling Bail will be downright furious.

He enters into the Senate Chambers with a crowd of people, going to watch some event that the Empire hosts tonight. It disgusts him, the number of people going on about their lives, content with the way things have changed. They walk the expanse dressed in their usual splendor, some of them already have wine in hand, other sit laughing on rich furniture. Hundreds of Jedi dead, thousands more from the fight on Mon Calamari, and these people haven’t a care. This is the kind of barbarism he expects from the Sith, not ordinary citizens. He wonders how many of these Senators have had Jedi protection at some point, or had been saved by the Order, only to cheer when Sidious announced their downfall.

Security stands by every door in the building, checking identi-chips that he doesn’t have. Getting by them onto the main lifts isn’t going to happen. He loses his crowd as soon as possible, ducking around a corner and in between a few decorative bushes. His eyes scan for a service lift or access stairwell—though he’d rather not have to scale forty-three floors of the Senate building; he’s getting too old for this—and spots a few cleaning droids swiping card and strolling onto a turbolift.

Hoping Bail’s office is in the same place, he exits the turbo lift and walks out onto the forty-third floor. There are less people on this floor, and the security is rounding the corner as he walks forward. Staying well behind them so as to not attract attention, he walks to where he hopes Bail’s office is, unhindered. He checks the name plate on the side: Bail Organa.

With no key card and no reply to his knocking, Obi-Wan lets himself in. Bail would be back eventually, so he grabs a cup of water and sits down on a chair to the corner, watching the traffic go by outside as he waits.

Hours pass before he hears the swipe of a key card. Bail enters without looking around, exhaustion evident on his face. Obi-Wan waits until he’s set the datapad down on the desk to speak, allowing his natural Coruscanti to shine through.

“Good evening, Senator.”

Bail jumps out of his skin and whirls around. “ _Kark_! Obi-Wan, what in the nine hells are you doing here?!” He turns on a lamp and looks at him, startled. “What did you do to your face?”

“I changed it. It’s not the first time. I’m looking for somethings. But I need information.”

He stares at him, jaw dropped. “You can’t be here. If Sidious finds you—”

“I’ve taken steps, Bail. And I’m willing to take the risk, so hear me out.”

The man grabs his bottle of Corellian brandy and sits down on the chair across from him. He looks like he’s aged ten years in the past seven months. He rubs a hand over his eyes and gestures for Obi-Wan to continue.”

“Were you aware that Padmé was pregnant when she died?”

“I had my suspicions. Who was the father?”

Obi-Wan sighs. “Anakin. They were married shortly after Geonosis. Sidious…forced him to watch her death, and we assumed the babies died with her. But, he’s had visions. Of a boy and girl that look spectacularly like the two of them.”

“Is possible he could just be projecting? Putting his desires into his dreams?”

“Force visions are different than dreams, Bail. He’s always had these; he saw his mother die for months before it actually happened. And I…I pushed his fears aside, and she died. Perhaps we could have saved her if…” he shakes his head. “If there is any chance that his children may still be alive, I have to find them. I have to.”

Bail lets out another sigh and takes a large swig of brandy. “What do you need?”

“Information, mostly. The children would be seven months old by now, so they need to eat, they need caretakers and diapers and the like. Sidious has to have orders hidden among his paper work. Does he ever leave Coruscant? I can access his servers and go through all of his files if he’s not here.”

“He barely leaves, but he is going to Naboo in a week for the Festival of Lights.”

“That’ll do.” Obi-Wan glances around the room. “Is there any way I could find a better place to stay…while I’m here?”

Bail blinks at him, once, twice. “Fine. Come on. You can take over my couch.”


	22. Keep me, keep me, beneath the shelter of your wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.   
> And then there were two...

He been pouring over these files for hours, and he’s come up with little. There is a trail of odd purchases on the records, buried so deep under thousands of financial records and money transfers. He has yet to find out where Anakin’s children are being held—if they’re being held, if they’re even alive—or how much time Sidious spends with them.

Perhaps he should have let Anakin stay; he might be able to sense his children. Too late now. There wouldn’t be time to call him back, and if Anakin is here when Sidious returns, well…

He’d rather not think about that.

So instead he goes back to digging, hoping that some of the feelers that Bail has put out will reveal more. He’s created a searching system that allows him to easily cross reference bank files with location of payment and areas of concentration. He hates the amount of waiting they’re having to do, hates that he’s not even sure if what he’s searching for even exists, hates that if they make one false move, they’ll have Sidious coming at them with everything.

He gets up and pours himself some of Bail’s brandy.

It’s much more entertaining to watch the alcohol swish over the ice round in the bottom than it is to watch files flashing across the screen. This waiting kills him.

He’s almost finished with his cup when the screen flashes blue and a pleasant chime plays. _Finally._ A cross check of security footage from six months ago revealed a cloaked Sidious holding two small bundles—newborn twin size bundles—and approaching a tower in the Industrial Sector. Obi-Wan can’t believe he took those kids to an area so rife with pollution. Force bless their little lungs. He springs up though, sending a virus to knock out the camera for a few hours while its system cleaned itself. He grabs his head covering, tucks his lightsaber into the concealed pouch inside the tunic, and scrawls a note for Bail before leaving his apartment.

He picks the plainest speeder he can find, and “borrows” it, keying in the directions to this tower in the Industrial Sector.  As he approaches, his heart races, and he prays Sidious has left few guards. There is a signature among the others in the tower that stands out, and it reminds him of Anakin. Another presence lurks in the tower, this one darker, and he recognizes it as one of the ones from earlier in the Temple. He has to deal with her quickly, before she can alert her Master. But if he can get to the children and get out without her noticing, it will give him time to get off world with them.

Still, it bothers him that he can’t sense more than _one_ signature, when there are _two_ of them. Perhaps they’ve spent so much time together that their signatures have joined together. He doesn’t want to think of the alternative.

Masking his signature the best he can before he lands, he reaches out one more time to sense all those inside the tower. He lands at the bottom of the tower, as discrete as possible. There is an Imperial ship sitting on a platform at the top of the tower. If he can get the younglings and get to that ship, he can leave Coruscant untouched.

He goes in through a vent, regretting his decision as soon as he’s inside—he doesn’t…bend like he used to—and follows his sense of the children as he navigates the rises and falls and turns of the intricate vent system. When he reaches a long, upward shaft, he has no choice but to use the Force to jump to the next level. He draws up as little as possible to avoid alerting the Dark Side user inside, and jumps. He uses the Force to cushion his landing, but still a small thud is made. The unmistakable sound of a lightsaber ignites on the floor below him, and he sucks in a breath, pressing himself up against the opposite wall. The blade hums for a few moments, footsteps ringing out on the metal floor below. He nearly jumps out of his skin when the tip of the blade comes up through the floor, centimeters from his hand. It takes thirty-nine years of Jedi discipline to keep him from jolting again, creating more sounds. He holds his breath until he hears the snap-hiss of the blade going back into the hilt, and the footsteps retreating down the hallway.

The twins are still four floors above him. But this particular vent system runs out in two. He’ll have to do the rest on foot. He eases out of the air duct and onto the floor, feeling along the walls for a concealed service stairwell or turbolift. There’s one behind a panel at the end of the hall way, and he ends up into a staircase that’s barely wide enough for his shoulders. Inching his way forward, he has to go up the stairs sideways to keep from scratching his shoulders to pieces. He draws his lightsaber as soon as he reaches the top of the stairs in response to a Force whispered warning. The hall way ahead of him is lined with a laser security grid, crisscrossing so that it would be impossible for him to crawl through.

_It can’t ever be easy; can it?_

There has to be a panel for these somewhere, but for the sake of time, he plunges his lightsaber into the nearest emitter, shorting out the entire system. He knows the warning alarm will begin to sound as soon as the security system runs a check and realizes part of it has been interrupted, so he takes off, running in the direction of the children. There are several rooms, and he opens the door at the opposite end of the hallway. In it is a small crib, big enough to hold one child, but he prays there are two. There _have_ to be two. He leans in, pulling the head covering from his first disguise out of his pocket. He finds, laying in the crib, a small blond haired, blue-eyed boy, looking up at him with wide eyes. For a moment he wonders if this is how Anakin looked when he was an infant. He looks around the small room, perhaps for another crib or a place large enough to hold a baby. There isn’t one.

The boy is alone. The other Skywalker isn’t here. And Obi-Wan’s heart breaks, because he knows he won’t have time to find her this run.

The baby starts to fuss, undoubtedly sensing his frustration. He reaches up toward him, fussing on the verge of growing into a full-blown fit. The trouble with Force-Sensitive children.

“Hush, little one.” He picks up the child, wrapping him in the head covering and fastening it to himself to keep the child tight against him. He reaches out to soothe the child’s fears, stopping his fussing. and Force, does he have a strong presence. This is definitely Anakin’s child. “I need to quiet so that I can get you back to your father. Can you do that for me?”

The alarm begins to sound, and he knows time is limited. They have to get out of here, now.

“I’m sorry about your ears, youngling. I know it’ll be loud.”

They step out into the hallway, and Obi-Wan searches through the Force for another vent system. He’s having trouble sending it now the that the Dark Side user knows he’s here, she’s blocking him. Opening to the Force a bit more, he presses forward into the Dark, trying to shove his own light through. He’s failing, and but he keeps moving, finding another stairwell and following it to the top.

He ignites his saber as soon as he reaches the top, and in front of him stand several security droids. The Force showed him their positions while he was climbing the steps, so he jumps into action seconds before they begin to fire, cutting down the two of them that stood closest to the door. He pushes through, cutting down all but one, and notices the blast doors closing on this end of the hallway. Diving through the opening, he cuts of his blade for a split-second, cradling the baby’s head as he lands, trying to avoid injuring him.

Ducking and dodging the lasers becomes more difficult as the numbers of attackers increases. It concerns him that throughout his running, he hasn’t bumped into the Dark Side user. Which means she is likely waiting for him at the top. Dueling with an infant on his chest isn’t his first choice, but he raises his blade anyway as he inches out on to the expanse. The ship sits across the landing pad from him, and standing in the center of the pad is his missing Dark Sider.

Her mask is down, its voice processing units distorting her voice as she calls out. “You have something that’s not yours.”

“He’s not yours either. Luckily for both of us, I have plans to get him to who he does belong to. So, if you’ll kindly allow me to borrow your vessel, we’ll be on our way.”

She ignites her saber and stalks toward him. _Of course. We’ll do it the hard way._ If he can get them turned around to where his back is to the ship, one well-placed push would send her flying far enough away for to at least get to the controls. He has to time this just right. He meets her in the center, before she comes to far in his direction, saber in one hand, and the other holding the baby tighter to his chest.

Their blades meet and she advances at the same time, forcing him back a step. She slashes at him over and over again, and he blocks each one with ease. It doesn’t take him very long for him to note that her movements with the dual-ended blade look awkward. This wasn’t her weapon of choice, and he can see by her footwork that she must’ve been trained in single blade combat first.

This gives him the upper hand. He fought Maul, who was skilled with the double-ended blade and defeated him more than once.

True to his style, he keeps up his defence, watching for her to make a mistake in her movements. In the process, he takes side steps whenever possible to rotate the conflict, positioning them so that he is closer to the ship. He blocks and parries and advances every now and again, searching for a weakness in her guard.

He takes his hand off of the boy for a moment, gripping the hilt with both hands. He can put more force behind his next attack this way. His greater weight thrown behind his strike would knock her off balance. She raised her blade to attack again, and he threw his attack at her knocking her off balance and slicing into her mask, and before she can get stable again, he tossed her back with the Force, pushing her toward the stairwell. He doesn’t look to see if she’s coming toward him; he just takes off running toward the vessel. He uses the Force to access the door controls and bounds up the ramp. Once he reaches the cockpit, he closes the ramps and takes off, jolting the ship into the air before it finishes its pre-flight checks. The craft hiccups as it pulls away into the Coruscant sky, and Obi-Wan sends its transponder codes through to the Transportation Authority as he clears the checkpoint and takes off into space. The ship registers fighters inbound—his adversary must have called in reinforcement—and with a heavy heart, he pulled up the coordinates for Lothal. As soon as he keys in the hyperspace coordinates, he shorts out the tracking system on the ship. The Empire won’t be able to find them.

As soon as they break away for Coruscant, the boy begins to wail. Obi-Wan unwraps him from the bindings and holds him, soothing the boy with the Force and a gentle rocking motion.

“I know your sister is down there, Little One. We’ll get her. I promise. We’ll go back for her.” Obi-Wan continues to calm the boy as he sits down in a chair to rest. “We just have to get you safe, first.”

Anakin will be distraught to know that his daughter has been left behind, but Obi-Wan knows that for the two of them to have stayed on Coruscant, the more chance Sidious had to find them when he comes back. They couldn’t afford that. If Obi-Wan _and_ the twins were stuck on Coruscant, nothing would stop Anakin from speeding back towards the planet and trying to take on Empire on his own.

He gives the child his finger to grasp as he reaches for it. “Your father is stubborn, youngling. Do me a favour and take after me, alright.”

The boy coos at him, gripping his finger with all of his strength. It doesn’t take long for the sound of Obi-Wan’s heartbeat to lull him to sleep.

_Force, protect that girl. I’ll come get her._


	23. The Monsters We Create...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took forever. I've been a little swamped getting ready to leave the US, so I apologize for the shortness.  
> I wanted to get one up before I go without internet.  
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.

Sidious has no love for his homeworld. Naboo is drenched in the Light Side of the Living Force, and he feels like it suffocates him every time he sets foot on the surface. The Festival of Lights is a useless tradition, a formality, now that their queen is a figurehead. Still, with all the pomp and circumstance that the tile of Emperor demands, he comes to his homeworld again to deliver a number of speeches.

He hates this. As soon as the sun sets and he can put his public work behind him, he begins his true work.

The night cycle has always been his favourite time. Cliché, yes, but he enjoys it all the same. Night is the only time when Naboo is tolerable. Less a pool of light, more comfortable for those who prefer the shadows. If he didn’t have an important resource stashed on this planet, he would avoid it all together. At least he can keep track of Naboo’s new and feisty queen. She has only been on the throne for seven months, and already she seems a rival to the late Queen Amidala’s tenacity. He wonders how long it’ll be before she’s foolish enough to try a rebellion.

The loss of the Skywalker boy aggravates him. His inquisitors will be punished for their failure. Incompetent fools. He wonders how the old Sith Order ever accomplished anything with so many of them. Seems like to many trained assassins and not enough underlings. He’s had to ignore his anger over all this, playing up the graciousness of the Empire as he signed off on a relief bill for one of Naboo’s moons. He’s a giver.

Reports from Pelagon show that things are progressing well; he now has four hundred entities ready for his use. All they have to do is grow. And with the new hyper-accelerated growth measures in place, they’ll be ready in no time. A small victory to make up for the massive loss he’d taken on Coruscant.

No matter. He’s still got another card up his sleeve. He stalks through the formal Royal Palace—now claimed by him as another headquarters—and down to the lower levels. He descends to a room located under the tower and keys in the security code that allows him to enter. It’s cold down here. Dark. Lonely. _Perfect._ The droids continue about their work; Sidious stays out of their way. He won’t be here long. He just wanted to check on his prize.

She’s doing just fine.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  * 

Obi-Wan sends a signal that he’s close to Lothal just after its fourth rotation. Four days since they separated, he’s coming home. Ahsoka managed to secure a ship on Pelagon, and she’s headed back this direction too, and she’s bringing some intel along with her.

He tracks Obi-Wan’s entry until he lands the required distance from the Temple; he’ll make the rest of the journey on foot. And as soon as the man steps over the threshold of the Temple, he better have a kriffing good explanation for his extended stay on Coruscant. Anakin should’ve known better than to fall for the “split up and meet back together strategy”, because Force-forbid Obi-Wan actually _follow_ that plan.

He rubs the sleep from his eyes and pulls his cloak tighter around himself. The Temple’s caves are always colder in the mornings. Climbing the stairs to the main entrance, Anakin plays over the berating he’s going to give his Master as soon as the older man sets foot in the Temple.

The door on the other end of the main hallway opens, and in steps Obi-Wan, covered from head to toe, black-dyed hair fading back to its normal red. He looks exhausted; his whole frame has slumped over. And there’s something hanging off his chest. Obi-Wan’s got a lot to tell him. He’s been busy. Anakin stares at the mass, trying to decide if this is what Obi-Wan stayed for, and how it could be so important. The bundle moves as Obi-Wan approaches him, and when he comes to a stop arm’s length from Anakin, he unwraps the fabric from around an infant.

Anakin’s heart stops when he sees the boy’s face, blue eyes looking up at him. He feels a light pressure on his mind, but it feels familiar. It’s definitely not Obi-Wan, and with a little more pressing, he determines it’s not hostile.

“Take him, Anakin.” Obi-Wan holds out the little bundle. “He’s yours.”

He feels so…light in his arms. In more ways than one. The boy fusses a bit as he shifts from Obi-Wan’s grip to his. He’s beautiful and alive, and he wishes they could have met months ago. In a birthing center on Coruscant or Naboo. Knowing Sidious had his hands on the baby for so long makes Anakin’s blood boil. His son feels his anger and starts to fuss again, before Anakin begins to rock him, trying to calm him back down.

“Shh. I’m sorry. It’s going to take me a while to get used to a little Force Sensitive.” The first thing he is going to learn is how to shield himself.

Obi-Wan smiles at him again, and reaches out to brush a hand over the boy. “Did the two of you have a name in mind?”

He nods, and choking back tears he says, “Luke. It’s an old Naboo name that means ‘light’.”

“A little light in the darkness.”

 Luke. His light. His son—his and Padmé’s. He wishes she could be here to see him and the girl—

“Wait. There were two. Where’s the girl?”

Obi-Wan’s face falls, and he looks at the ground. “I-I only managed to find the boy. Sidious has the girl somewhere else. I’m sorry.”

He can feel tears stinging at his eyes, but he blinks them away long enough to thank his Master. Holding the boy close to him, he bows low. “I can’t thank you enough, Master.”

He nods, and his smile reaches his eyes this time. Anakin can feel his exhaustion. “As long as your gratitude outweighs any anger I might’ve caused by my deception.”

Anakin puts one hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. “You’re definitely forgiven. Go get some rest, Master.”

He turns back to his son wiggling a finger at him as he heads to their make-shift cafeteria. “Let’s go get some caf, little one. We’ve got some catching up to do.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  * *

_Days ago…_

Ahsoka thinks she could like this world. She’s always liked water, and despite the constant smell of refineries—Pelagon is a mining world after all—it’s nice. The surface is covered by oceans, and as much as she would like to grab a drink and go down to one of the artificial beaches, she’s has better things she can do with her time. Waiting around for word from Obi-Wan gives her time to…investigate the Empire’s business here. There’s no reason for her to sit around and wait.  She’s seen a large number of transports coming and going from the surface. Most of them dropping off personnel and loading up with crates of whatever it is they’re working on here.

She tried to pass as a scientist into one of the sites, but the xenophobic _kung_ that the Imp’s tend to employ wouldn’t let her anywhere near the entrance. Whatever. She has a backup plan.

As soon as night falls, she drags on her black garments she used in her earlier escape. There’s a vent hole that shuts off every two to three hours, so she moves quickly. Aware that her window of time is fast approaching, she takes off into the dark.

The trooper presence has doubled in the past six hours. Whatever Sidious is working on here, it’s big. She can’t think of any things that he requisitioned during the Clone Wars that could possibly be helpful. Whatever he’s doing can’t be good.

She sits on the ridge and tracks patrol movements, calculating that she’s got 45 seconds between each pass of troops to get to her opening. _Three…two…one…Go!_ She bounds across as soon as the search light passes in the opposite direction, ducking behind the other side of the vent. The shadows shield her—just—from the light when it passes again. By her timing, she’s got ninety seconds until the cooling cycle shuts off and the vents clear. The troops seem to be getting closer and closer to her position with each pass. It won’t be too long before the shadows aren’t enough. The air stream cuts off with hiss, and she cracks open the grate and jumps down the tunnel, using the sides and the Force to slow her fall. She lands on a walkway high above a bottomless pit. The structure is massive; she can’t even begin to guess the circumference.

Jumping from one walkway to the other, she makes her way to the center of the metal chamber. Odd. Hundreds of troops stationed outside guarding the perimeter, but inside, it’s a ghost town. A few service droids here and there and maybe two or three scientists on each walkway. For a structure this size with such a small presence, she wonders if this whole complex is just a cover for something else.

It concerns her a little that the researchers are Kaminoan. She doesn’t want to jump to unfair conclusions, but they’re generally only called in to do cloning research.

Down further, she finds a computer terminal that one of the scientists left logged in. She rummages through the files looking for anything that strikes her as odd.

That’ll do it. At the bottom of the list sits a file on some sort of creature. Sidious had it taken during the Clone Wars after he killed it. _What use can a dead animal be to him?_

There has to be more here. She decides she has to get to the literal bottom of this tower. Whatever _it_ is is down there. She jumps. Using the Force to direct her movement, she stays in the shadows landing behind some kind of large, brown lump. Looking closer, she notices the center of the lump moves up and down. Her heart stops a little when she realizes: it’s breathing. The lump is the creature, and, _Force_ ¸ is it huge. Whatever this is seems to go on and on in all directions. It’s like this tunnel is acting as a sort of cage.  

The project file had a name for this thing. And apparently, Sidious had succeeded in his goal of cloning it, because she can see smaller versions of this thing in growth tubes. Anakin is going to want to hear about this.

Sneaking out is considerably easier than sneaking in, so it doesn’t take her long to clear the perimeter and the troops and the turrets. She gets on her borrowed boat, and rows back toward the city, leaving the metal island behind. First ship she can catch—or steal—she’s out of here.

When she gets back to her hide out, she grabs a ration bar, curls up under a blanket, and digs through old Temple files on this Zillo Beast.

 


	24. There's a storm that brews 'cross the sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy y'all! I did indeed survive customs and plane flights and I have returned with fic!  
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.  
> Happy Belated Independence Day to my fellow Americans!

It feels strange to hold this little life in his hands. After so much death in his world the past few months, this almost feels wrong to have this. This closure. He can’t imagine how many birth parents of Temple younglings would kill to have this opportunity again. To hold their little ones close to them one more time. Instead, he’s sure the Empire broadcasted footage of the Temple massacre as some kind or propaganda, and many of parents likely saw their children lying there. He saw it up close, running over bodies on that day, trying to save who he could, save anyone, save them _all_ , but he could do nothing but lay on the ground wishing to die, hearing the echoes of screams and blaster fire around him.

Luke stirs in his arms, dragging him out of his thoughts. He smiles looking down at him, as the boy reaches up one grasping hand towards his face. He’s not fussy yet, but Anakin has learnt that this is the signal for “hungry”. Caleb went into town to fetch formula yesterday, claiming it was for his little brother. He’s gotten a kick out of telling everyone how the shop owner thought Master Shryne was too old to have a newborn.

Anakin holds the bottle within reach, allowing Luke to suck on it gratefully. This is all so weird to him. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined he’d have a child, that he’d be a _father._ It is humbling and amazing and terrifying.

And he still wishes Padmé were here to see this.

Luke is so much like her; he can tell already. Obi-Wan says that he takes after his father, but that’s only true in looks. No, he has Padmé’s spirit. Calm. Determined. Peaceful. He prays he’ll be able to protect this innocence, protect him from Sidious, from the Dark, from his father. Anakin feels like he’s cursed—his mother, Qui-Gon, his wife—everyone around him dies. Obi-Wan has been the notable exception, but still he worries every time they leave on a mission. And now that Anakin never knows when his legs are going to cooperate, it’s even more of a fear.

Nerve damage sucks.

He can’t understand what’s wrong. His legs have worked fine since he’s been home, despite initial fears he would fall and drop Luke. He’s trained with Obi-Wan and walked outside in the grasses with the younglings. He needs another high-stress but safe environment to test them in, because if this became a long term issue, Obi-Wan would bar him from field work. Not that he could blame him. He’d be a liability.

Speaking of physical issues, Anakin wonders how Windu is holding up. He’s been weak and subdued since his return from captivity, and quiet in the Force. Their computers have limited database accesses, so sources of information have been scarce at best. It’s still unclear what the long term effects of the experiment are, nor is there any information on the experiments themselves. He shifts Luke to a straight position, and begins to lightly pat his back, leaning over the terminal to check for new findings. None yet. For Windu’s sake—for other Force-users’ sakes—he hopes they’ll find answers soon.

He feels sorry for the old Master, but he can relate to him in an odd way. They never liked each other much—Anakin always felt like Windu judged his every action. Now they could open up their own section of the Jedi Temple. “Rest Home for the Invalid and Old”.

Luke has drifted back to sleep, fed and content. He shifts him back to a cradle in his arms, and the baby pulls closer to his heart. It warms him, but Anakin wonders if he could find someone to watch him for a bit. Maybe Obi-Wan would—

_“Anakin, Ahsoka has returned with intel. She insists it’s urgent.”_

_Speak of the devil._ “On my way.”

Ahsoka’s eyes widen when he walks in the room. Which meant she was unaware of Obi-Wan’s plot to stay behind on Coruscant either.

“Who is this?” she asks, stepping over to take Luke from Anakin’s arms.

“Luke, Ahsoka. Ahsoka, Luke.”

He wakes up, moderately confused for a moment at his sudden shift.

“Nice to meet you, Luke.”

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan coughs. “You had a report?”

“Yes, sorry.”

Walking to the holoprojector, she inserts a data chip and explains the images as they come up on the screen. “While I was on Pelagon, I discovered a facility on the opposite coast of one of its oceans. It is heavily guarded and also a false front. The main facility is an old fish packing plant, but underneath is a massive operation. It looks like a research facility; one that’s working on a cloning project.”

“What are they cloning?” Rex speaks up, almost too quiet to hear, looking vastly uncomfortable.

“Master Kenobi, Master Windu, Anakin, do you remember the Zillo Beast?”

For the first time in weeks, Windu is on his feet. “How many do they have? How many copies?”

“Well, that’s the thing. It looks a lot like Kamino. Hundreds filed along the walls. But I wasn’t sure what their plan was.”

“I know exactly what they’re doing with them.” Windu pulled up an image then, moving Ahsoka to the side. “When we tested them during the War, we discovered their scales are blaster and lightsaber resistant. Sidious could engineer troop and cruiser armour from them. He cannot be allowed to reinforce their army with this.”

“Agreed,” Obi-Wan says. “But what is to be done with the creatures? Releasing that number of them into the wild may upset the planetary eco-systems the galaxy over, but we can’t just kill them either.”

Anakin shakes his head. This would be another instance where the Jedi disregard the right decision for the moral one. He used to be so frustrated by the Council, and their inability to understand that winning a war, winning a rebellion meant that sometimes you had to make questionable decisions. Sacrifices had to be made. For an order than clings to the principle of “Don’t lose a thousand lives just to save one”, they tend to incorrectly weigh the numbers.

“There may be a solution,” Ahsoka pulls up a data chart. “Their growth acceleration is even faster that our troops. They seem to die relatively quickly, so even if we did release them, it wouldn’t upset anything for too long?”

“We’re ignoring simple logistics.” Anakin cuts in. “We don’t have the means to transport that many creatures, we don’t have a planet to place them on, and we don’t have that much time. Would it not be—would it not be kinder to put them down the way we did with the first one?”

All eyes turned to him. _Kriff._ Tensions rise in the room. _Hear me. Please._ “I understand the issues here, but I don’t know if saving them is realistic.”

Ahsoka looks at him with so much shock and betrayal on her face. “You don’t think we should save them?!”

“I’m saying it may not be possible or wise.”

“Since when do you turn away from the chance to save lives? Since when do you just cut your losses because its’ too hard? You’ve always been all about saving everyone, everything, when did you—”

“When I realized that I can’t save anyone!” He shouts surprising himself and everyone else in the room. Silence falls hard and fast. “Obi-Wan told me for years that I couldn’t save everyone, that not every life could have a happy ending. Well let me tell you, laying on the Temple floor hearing, seeing, feeling all that death around you, watching my _wife_ shot down before my eyes, believing my children dead, believing my Master dead: that changes your perception of a lot of things.” He takes a shaky breath trying to reroute the conversation. “I think this needs to be one of those times where we make the impossible decision. The amount of manpower it would take to transport them would put more of us in danger. I mean no disrespect our troopers, but these creatures—”

“I agree with you, Sir.”

Rex is the last person he expects to be onboard with this. Yet here he stands, stepping forward to stand next to him. Maybe it’s out of loyalty to his general, or maybe Rex has lost as much hope as he has. He hopes it’s the former.

An alert breaks through the silence. Anakin set an alarm to let him know if his search came up with anything on Windu. Apparently it has. He walks right past Obi-Wan, ignoring his Master’s guilt-ridden expression and pulling up the results. This is…horrifying.

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan’s voice comes from over his shoulder.

He says nothing, moving aside instead to let him read the results of the experiment.

“It seems,” Obi-Wan says, visibly shaken, “that Sidious has discovered a way to…not kill, exactly, but disable midichlorians. Master Windu was a test, but his are slowly reactivating; we’ve seen his signature increase in strength over the past few days. And these results say it’s been perfected…”

“There’s no evidence to what he’s planning to do with it.” He reaches over again, and tries to find the location of the research facility. Several are listed. _Force, help us._ “Now, we _have_ to send to teams. Some need to deal with the Zillo issue, and some need to find out what Sidious is planning to do with all of this drug.”

“I can contact Bail, see what he can get access to from the senate.”

Ahsoka crosses her arms; he can see her off to the side. She’s not happy with him. And for all she says she’s not a Jedi anymore, her response to the Zillo problem is very, _very_ Jedi. She volunteers to help with the second mission, followed by Master Shryne and Caleb.

Rex volunteers for the Zillo mission. Obi-Wan does as well, followed by Breandán. Despite being an orphaned Padawan, he continues to show improvement with the Force. Anakin clears him to go.

“Windu and I can monitor from here. The teams can discuss how they want to handle their respective missions. Be careful. Be quiet.” He walks over and gently extracts a sleeping Luke from Ahsoka’s arms. “If you’ll excuse me…”

He can feel their eyes on his retreating back, and he knows this isn’t over. Obi-Wan will show up at his door in two hours flat.

Two hours. Plenty of time to do some leg testing.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Caleb hasn’t known his Master very long, but he can tell this entire idea makes him nervous. He’s been in meditation for hours, and the Padawan can feel him trying to find calm or peace. He has to admit that the idea of being able to shut down an individual’s connection to the Force concerned him—there used to be stories, whispers in the clans at the Temple about Sith who could sever a being’s connection, but they were always written off as myth. Now, if science could do it…

Where did that leave them?

_Do not fear, Caleb Dume. The Force works in mysterious ways._

He nearly jumps out of his skin. Ever since that…mind meld with the Force, he’s heard voices and felt things that he never did before. What’s worse, is that the voice usually comes as that of his former Master’s, and every word spoken is like a vibroblade through the heart. He hasn’t told Master Shryne yet. Doesn’t want to worry him, but this is beginning to be a regular occurance, and he’s not sure how he feels about that.

He never wanted to be that kind of Jedi with that kind of power. All he ever wanted was to join the War and fight by his Master’s side. Both those things came true, he supposes, but certainly not in the way he wanted. Maybe the voice is right. The Force does work in mysterious ways.

With nothing else to do for preparation before the teams leave, he sinks down to meditate across from his teacher, losing himself in the Force.


	25. We have loosed the fateful lightning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is longer to make up for my weeks of absence.  
> Currently fighting through a five-week Chem course.  
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.
> 
> On to the show!

Pelagon has a permanent smell of chemicals and blast furnaces. Mining worlds have never been his favourite, and beside him he hears Rex muttering something about wishing he had his helmet with him—the stale filtered air would be nice right about now. Despite the amount of smoke and the hazy sky, the oceans remained untouched. Still beautiful and blue, and the main source for water on this planet. Their “base of operations” is an old, abandoned desalinization factory, rotting away next to the bigger, more modern ones on this block.

The last time he’d been here, he had been picking up a youngling with Qui-Gon. Pelagon has always been a place known for producing Force-sensitive children. The effects of the Purge can be seen here, clear as the waters that covered its surface. Children no longer play in the streets; there is no more laughter.

Rex has been awfully quiet, both during the flight over and now. This whole mission has him unsettled, but nevertheless he volunteered to be the one to deliver the poison, saying he wished to save the Jedi’s conscious. Obi-Wan gave him a sad smile and replied that he had made peace with this, or rather, as much peace as he can make.

Breandán seems anxious too. Obi-Wan hasn’t spent much time him other than healing him when he’d been injured on Belsavis, but he can tell that he is inexperienced with field work. His former Master was a teacher at the Temple who worked mainly in the diplomatic sphere. It is highly likely that this is second assignment, the first having been to clear the Temple on Belsavis.

He wishes Ahsoka were here. She’s used to this and works well with him and Rex. But she vehemently refused this mission, and Obi-Wan understands why. After much meditation and seeking, he feels confident this is the best option. Maybe not the right one, but the best one. He hates that it’s come to this. That the galaxy has changed so much in such a short time that he’s here ending Force knows how many lives, while across the galaxy two of his fellow Jedi and Ahsoka investigate a plot that could change the Future or Force-Sensitive children the galaxy over. Sidious could mandate some kind of “vaccine” so he could control the numbers. An army of Force sensitive inquisitors and no one to challenge them—

No. Back on task.

They reach their factory and set the plan in motion. Obi-Wan and Rex lower their hoods, and begin to tackle their separate tasks. He hands Breandán the datachips he needs access codes programmed in to—trust Anakin to be able to get his hands on those—and he begins mapping out their entry and exit points. Ahsoka had managed to get pretty good schematics, so all he has to do is coordinate movements. Rex mixes together the chemicals that will…put the creatures to sleep, as well as render their hard scales soft and useless.

A quick and easy way to rid the Empire of another advantage.

It doesn’t take them long to get everything ready. Breandán hands them two chips, and they run over the plan one more time.

As soon as they leave, they split up. It’ll be easier for them to get to the facility unnoticed if they’re not in a group. They’ll take separate boats there and then the same one back. Obi-Wan and Breandán are scheduled to arrive first. They’ll clear the way for Rex to enter and distribute the poison. It’s aerosol dispersed, so as soon as it gets into their enclosures, it’ll start to shut them down.

Running to the edge of the facility, Obi-Wan signals Breandán from across the way. They meet behind a vent, similar to the one Ahsoka went through. Using the Force to time their jump, they leap through the first opening in the gas flow. As soon as their feet touch the bottom, the roll out of the pathway just before the gas rushes up again.

Breandán sets to work disabling the vent system until Rex can get down on his side. Obi-Wan closes his eyes, watching Rex's progress through the Force. The Clone touches down halfway down the complex from them.

“He's in. Reactivate it.”

The gas flow turns back on a moment later. He and Breandán head off in the opposite direction, while Rex went to get the poison dispersal set up in the air system. The DNA chambers are two levels below them. They find an access stairwell behind a panel in the wall, picking up their pace as Obi-Wan senses Rex approaching his target. As soon as he and Breandán destroy the consoles, the alarms will sound, sending all security and all personal running to this location and away from Rex.

“As soon as we hit this, be ready to run.”

Obi-Wan catches the detonators as Breandán tosses them, placing each one at the base of one of these terminals. If they're lucky, the blasts will collapse the entire complex. Seven thermal detonators sit in this small room. The closes behind them as they leave; Obi-Wan ignites his saber and welds the door closed, hoping the added pressure will aid the damage done when the detonators blow. They move back into their staircase, climbing up to the fourth level above this chamber. Rex is eight levels below them. He has the harder task.

Obi-Wan breaks radio silence for the first time, since the Empire is about to find out they're here anyway.

“Rex, I hope you're ready. It's about to get hot inhere.”

“Ready as ever, Sir. Just have the door open for me.”

He nods at Breandán, and the boy gets that smile that all fifteen year olds get at the prospect of blowing something up. He presses the trigger, and a large Boom resounds through the building, shaking the walkways. A siren sounds; red emergency lights bathe the hallways in light.

Obi-Wan reaches out, feeling for numbers. Twenty five on this floor alone, heading straight for them. Breandán senses it too, reaching for his blade. Obi-Wan puts a hand on his where it reaches for his belt.

He shakes his head. “Not unless we have to.”

He tears open the access panel, closing the blast doors on both sides of them. He seals the one closest to him with his blade, the Padawan following suit behind him.

“Do we have any charges left?”

“Two.”

“Place one here. Let's hold on to the other one.”

Up to another vent they jump, moving quickly. This is not where they want to be when Rex releases his poison.

Breandán stops. “Master Kenobi, when Rex releases the gas...what about all these people?”

As much as he sometimes wants the Empire to suffer for all they've done--

No. They don't deserve this.

“We'll sound the evacuation alarms near our exit. After that, it's up to them.”

“Sir, are you ready?”

They jump down near the blast doors that will serve as Rex's escape. Undoubtedly, the Empire have been tracking the Jedi’s movements. With any luck the personnel here will run to a different door to escape the building. If not, well, they'll make their stand here. Rex just has to make it to them.

“As ever, Rex. Do it, and put in your breather.”

A band of troopers round the corner heading for this doorway, as Obi-Wan and Breandán put in their rebreathers. They pull out their blasters upon seeing the two intruders, and the two Jedi respond in kind. These troopers aren’t expecting lightsabers, and three of them fall in the opening volley, with the next four following suit. Four more bodies hit the floor, and above them, Obi-Wan sees the sickly orange coloured gas pouring through the vents. More and more people head their direction; he prays Rex will reach them soon. Another group stops and prepares to fire, but their blocking the exit for the regular personnel and at this point, Obi-Wan’s had enough. Enough lives will be lost today. There’s no reason to add to the stack.

“You can shoot us, or you can evacuate with everyone else so you don’t die,” he says, removing his rebreather for just a moment.

It doesn’t take much consideration before the group pushes right past them. He and Breandán see the looks cast in their direction as the group runs past, some condescending, some angry, some grateful.

Rex comes along at the tail end of the last wave, far enough behind to remain unnoticed. “We’re gonna have a hell of a time reaching the boats now, Sir. Outside security has been notified. There are Walkers headed this way.”

The exit, but turn in a different direction from the main group, heading instead for the shore. They reach the sand, but have four ten meters more of distance to cover, and it’s here that they hear the first blast his behind them. That tell-tale high-pitched sound of walker fire. Obi-Wan ducks as one flies over his head and leaps as another falls behind him. It feels like the Clone Wars all over at them, except this time, he doesn’t have an army to fight with. It’s just the three of them, running from a horde of Imperial firepower.

Obi-Wan lets Breandán and Rex climb in first and gives the boat a substantial push with the Force. He waits until they’re far enough out—Rex having turned on the engine—before he gathers the Force underneath him and leaps out to small craft, landing just inside. He looks down at a scorch mark on his coat, one that likely came from a blaster. Breandán and Rex sit against the sides, breathing hard.

He turns and smiles at his friends. “Well, that was close.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Caleb shifts on his feet, anxiety growing the closer they get to Raed-7. The Dark Side reaching out at him. He can block it out for a little while, but as soon as they drop out of hyperspace, it rushes at him like a fist, hitting him right in the gut. The Dark Side drips off of this place. Caleb’s not sure if he’s the only one feeling it, but not it feels like it’s lashing out at him, and suddenly, he can’t breathe. The ship spins, and he leans his weight on a nearby console.

He hears that voice again, but this time it doesn’t sound like Master Billaba. _There is evil beneath the surface. Beware the Dark Side, Jedi._

Ahsoka staggers into her chair in front of him, Master Roan leaning in to check on her. She’s pale and sweat pools on her forehead.

He hates to draw his Master’s attention from Ahsoka, but he really, _really_ wants to breathe. “Master,” he chokes out.

Master Roan comes to his side in an instant. “Caleb?” Hands settle on his shoulder. “Are you feeling it, too?”

He nods, words not quite forming. He allows Master Roan to guide him to a seat, and the older man kneels in front of him. He takes one of Caleb’s hands in his, then Caleb feels a brush on his mind. His Master sends him calm through the Force, and honestly, just his presence is a welcome respite from the Dark. He clings to him, trying to breathe through it, using his Master as a bulwark against the storm.

He doesn’t know how long it takes for him to be able to breathe normally again, and when he opens his eyes, Ahsoka is looking at them. “Feeling better?”

“A little. It’s still there, but…less now.”

“I expected to have this reaction—I went through a bit of a-a journey, after I left the Order. But I wouldn’t have expected _you_ to feel this so strongly.”

Caleb can feel Master Roan’s eyes on him, waiting for an explanation. _Stang._ He should’ve told him earlier. Better late than never. “Ever since that day in the Temple when the Force…I don’t know…possessed me—for lack of a better word?—I’ve been feeling thing so much more strongly, and sometimes I can _hear_ the Force.”

Master Shryne is silent for a moment. “What does it say?”

“There is evil beneath the surface.”

Ahsoka pulls the ship in closer, aiming toward the sensor-quiet part of the planet. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but then again, that’s the best place to hide a secret research facility. She activates their own scanning sequence, looking for cities, buildings, any evidence of people. None show in the current parameters.

“There’s nothing down there.”

“That’s impossible.” Roan reaches out to the scanners again, checking the data once more. He runs a hand through his hair in frustration, coming up with the same results. “Change the settings for heat signatures.”

They run the scans again. Nothing shows.

Caleb closes his eyes for a moment, sinking as far in the Force as he can get without allowing the Dark Side back in, and presses a question out as he extended his senses to the planet below. _Where? Where are they?_

_There is evil beneath the surface._

“Master, I think they’re underground. Run a subterranean scan.”

His Master frowns. “We’ll have to land to run one of those. That’s a big risk for an uncertainty. Are you sure?”

 _There is evil beneath the surface._ “I’m sure.”

“Do it.”

Ahsoka settles them in a cave in one of the mountain ranges. Master Roan sets up the scans for the subterranean level. This mountain range covers the surface of the planet, and the amount of rock here makes it difficult for the scans to pick up anything. When the hologram comes up, it’s a bunch of blurry rock scans and odd cross sections. No metal structures to be found underneath. Caleb hangs his head; he was so sure. What is the Force trying to tell him?

“Wait.” His Master magnifies the lower levels of the scan. He points to some round looking labyrinth down below. “These look like tunnels that open up into cave systems.”

“A perfect way for the Empire to keep this off their scanners: bury it underneath mountains and use the natural rock. So unlike them.”

Ahsoka looks frustrated and rightly so. This complicates their initial plan. Getting down there and getting out in one piece will be an issue. They’ll need to find a way back to their ship when the whole planet will be on alert. But they have to destroy this research, this product, so they lock up the ship and head down the mountainside.

To be honest, Caleb had hoped they’d be able to blast this thing from above and head home. Anakin had only been able to acquire location, no schematics, no troop or personnel numbers, no security details. There’s a lot that can go wrong here. He and Ahsoka follow behind Master Roan, who does his best to follow the convoluted tunnel system that showed on the scans.

There’s some kind of access hole up ahead; his Master cuts a hole in the grate and they drop down into a muddy pile of something. It’s a long fall, judging by how dark it is down here. They need to find a way in to the main facility, which Ahsoka thinks are marked by these major openings in the caverns. Master Roan closes his eyes briefly, and Caleb feels him searching.

“There.” He leads them up to an odd looking rock. “This is an access panel.”

Behind it lies a stairwell. Ahsoka climbs first, peering out into the hallway, signaling for them once she’s sure it’s clear.

“Great. We’re in, and we have no idea where we’re going.” Caleb whispers from the back.

Ahsoka shoots him a look, and runs across to a terminal. She gets past security in what Caleb thinks must be record time, and pulls up a layout.

“There’s a large room labeled ‘research’ and another one labeled ‘storage.’ I think the ‘storage’ room is a little too big to be housing cleaning supplies. Let’s start there.”

“Caleb and I will check the storage room. You can grab the research room. If you see anything suspicious, blow it.”

“I’m going to wipe the data first.” She downloads the map onto her holoprojector. Let’s meet up in the middle when we’re done. We’ll have to move fast.”

“Understood. May the Force be with you.”

He and Master Roan split off from Ahsoka at a fork in the tunnel. The storage room is just ahead of them, guarded by a high-security door. He recognizes the design from a mission he went on with Master Billaba. If they try to get around this in any way—slicing, hacking, rewiring—an alarm will sound.

“How much time do you think we should give Ahsoka?” His Master asks, a hint of a smile on his face.

“She works pretty fast, maybe—”

The compound erupts into sound, blaring sirens and lights flashing around them, the sound of feet running through the caverns.

“I’d say she beat us to it.”

He plunges his lightsaber into the door and cuts a circle. Inside are shelves and shelves of test tubes labeled with various warning signs and an odd looking red symbol.

“What’s this mean?”

“That,” says his Master, looking grim, “is an old Sith symbol for the Force. Let’s trash it all.”

Caleb hands him a few detonators from his back, each one activating as it clicked on to the metal of the shelves. Once the eighth one clicks into place they run, heading straight back for the fork in the road, jumping a little when the bombs go and the caves shake around them.

Ahsoka rounds the corner, white blades out, looking frustrated as she reflects shots coming from behind her. “Karking computer had a hacker alarm. Anakin would be so disappointed.”

They run from the rather impressive number of troops following behind them, Ahsoka pulling up the map on her projector. She takes the lead, and they fall in behind, reflecting and dodging incoming blaster fire. Caleb stumbles a bit when the cave system shakes again, a sign of another explosion going off in the distance.

“I got my charges set and destroyed the data.” She yells over her shoulder as they turn another corner and bound up a flight of stairs.

This hallway leads straight to a set of blast door that open up into the mountains. It’ll be easy for them to get out of the Empire’s eyes up there.

The number of troops on their tail begins to be overwhelming; Caleb can sense their numbers growing. All three of them block and dodge as much fire as they can, but it’s getting harder and harder to miss the fire coming in. Ahsoka’s been grazed twice. Caleb can feel his Master’s pain; he must’ve been hit somewhere, too. There’s one more set of door up ahead. One more barrier to cross until they can disappear into the mountains.

His heart skips when he hears the unmistakable sound of a droideka’s rolling form bounding across the metal surface. _Three._ There are three of them. There’s no way they’ll be able to block all of this. Master Shryne knows this, too, and he stops dead in the center of the hallway and turns to face their adversaries. Ahsoka stops ahead of him. He stops between the two of them.

Over his shoulder his Master shouts a command, and it feels like he’s reliving a nightmare. “Caleb, run! I’ll be right behind you.”

_No! Not this time._

He runs forward, clipping his lightsaber to his belt, calling on the Force to help him accomplish this task. He stops in between his friends and the enemy and pushes his hands forward, throwing the Imperials back in the opposite direction. Before they can recover, he turns and does the same thing again, shoving his Master and Ahsoka toward the exit. He draws up his lightsaber and turns to face the Empire, walking backwards with an unusual calm. He begins to deflect the shots one by one as the troops slowly begin to fire again. Eventually, their fire will overwhelm him.

He deflects as much as he can, feeling for his friends in the Force. Ahsoka is all but dragging his Master to the exit, and he thinks he hears her saying. “I don’t know what he’s doing, but I’d say the Force has it figured out.”

Troopers drop one by one, but now he can’t keep up with the rate of fire. He feels one bolt tear into his shoulder and another into his gut. Reaching out through the pain, trusting in the Force one more time, he pushes himself backwards this time, landing just at his Master’s feet.

He hears the blast doors close behind him, feels Master Roan picking him up, calling for him, and then everything fades to black.


	26. We're searching far and wide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Summer Chem class had consumed my life.   
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.  
> I think we're nearing the end...

He feels like he’s floating…or flying? He’s moving fast, and the more he feels, it’s not a smooth ride. He thinks he’s running but his legs aren’t moving. There is shouting above him, and the familiar hum of a lightsaber.

He tries to move a bit, turn and figure out where he is, but a pressure tightens on his shoulder and—“Caleb, be still. You’re alright.”

Dragging open his eyes, he sees stars above him and the face of his teacher. He still can’t get his bearings, but he’s content for now to let Master Roan carry him. The humming of a lightsaber—no, two lightsabers—and the sound of a pounding heart lull him back to the brink of sleep, but he shakes it off, determined to try and stay awake and conscious in case he’s needed.

There’s a fire burning in his belly, and as soon as he notices it, the pain seems to spread. Suddenly, it’s a fight to keep from writhing, to keep from screaming, and he presses his face into his Master’s chest. _Breathe. Breathe._ It getting harder to get air into his lungs, and it worsens his panic. He didn’t survive the Clone Wars, survive Order 66 only to die on some horrible, mountainous, Empire ridden world.

“Caleb, stop. You’re stressing your body. _Relax_.” A touch of suggestion hangs off that last word. He feels himself going limp again, unconsciousness tugging at the corners of his mind. He tries to fight it off again.

He fails.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

They’re three kilometers from the ship in a cavern inside one of the mountains of this twisty range. Caleb’s been out hard since that suggestion, but his body is struggling. They need to get him to medical. Neither he nor Ahsoka can heal him. He is totally and completely useless. Caleb’s fate is in the Force’s hands.

Roan runs a hand through his hair. He had forgotten what it’s like to have another life depending on him to this extent. He’d forgotten how it felt to be powerless. He hates it.

Beside him Caleb stirs, pain flashing across his face. The master reaches out and lays a hand across his forehead, sending as much soothing energy as he can. The boy stills again, but his sleep still lacks peace. He’ll try for a healing trance when they get back to the ship. Speaking of—

“How much longer until we can move?”

Ahsoka’s been trying to determine a way to track the Empire’s movements, but she’s been unsuccessful. She needs a better way to scramble her signal. If they were on the ship…

“So far nothing. I’m gonna try to do it the hard way. Can you watch the entrance?”

Doing so would take his attention from Caleb. But if they didn’t get out of here, he’ll die. “Go ahead and do whatever you need to do.”

He doesn’t expect her to sink down into a meditative trance and throw her senses outward. It feels like she’s trying to feel the movements of everyone on this planet. Judging by the sweat on her forehead, she may be doing just that. He doesn’t want her to exhaust herself, so he tries to send her what energy he can—anything not focused on monitoring Caleb and watching their front.

She stands after a while, but her eyes still have a gloss over them, like she’s not fully present. “I’ll lead.”

Gently, he settles Caleb back in his arms, careful not to jostle his wounded side. His heart sinks and he swipes his perception over him again. The boy is fading. He’s losing his fight.

The Force whispers a warning when they make the first climb. The Empire searches for them on this ridge, he knows it, he _feels_ it, but he can’t see them here. Ahsoka continues to lead them directly into where he feels their enemy the strongest but says nothing, so he follows blindly, praying the Force is leading her true.

They move behind a boulder as soon as a search light passes over where they were standing seconds ago, the ship above them passing on to the next section. Roan dislikes these close calls and cut corners, but they have to go as the Force directs. He doesn’t doubt the Force’s leadership, but he worries about keeping Caleb quiet. Every time he jostles his Padawan’s injury, the boy whimpers. He wonders how long it’ll be before that it heard, or that whimper becomes a cry.

When they dropped down to the next plateau, he notices the sweat beading on Caleb’s brow. They’re running out of time.

Ahsoka seems to sense his fear, because she says, still dazed, “Two clicks to go.”

Two more kilometers and a long flight home.

More and more imperials start to litter the landscape. They’ve brought out droids, and up on one of the hills he can make out the shadow of a thermal scanner. They need to move faster, because once the Imperials get that thing running, there’s nowhere for them to hide.

A few more steps and they jump down again, narrowly missing a patrol group. He recognizes this area. The ship is in a cavern across this expanse and up a level. There’s nothing to duck behind or hide under here—it’s completely flat and open. But it’s their only route. They have to make it. Breaking into a sprint, Caleb whimpers again at the harsh pulling of his wound caused by the bouncing, but there’s nothing Roan can do about it.

_Hold on, Little One. We’re almost finished._

A shot grazes his head. And then another. He dares to look over his shoulder, and sees what looks like an entire garrison running at them. He’s being dramatic, of course, but this has to be more bodies than he’s ever been chased by. The Holonet would have a field day with this if they could get their hands on footage.

They continue to pick up speed, and he feels a tug on his mind telling him to get ready to jump. He figures it must be Ahsoka, so if they time this right, they’ll both be able to get up at the same time. He feels her gathering the Force around herself, and he begins to do the same. More shots fly in their direction. A voice shouts for them to cease over an intercom. Ahsoka shouts for him to jump _now,_ and they fly up over the plateau’s edge and into the cavern.

Her eyes are back to normal now; she’s extracted herself from her moving meditation. He can feel her exhaustion, but she keeps going, reaching the cockpit and throwing herself into the pilot’s seat.

“Get him situated. I’ll get us out of here.”

There is a small, tiny medical area in the back of the ship, but it barely qualifies as a life support system, and it’s certainly not the caliber that Caleb needs. Nevertheless, he gets him hooked up to it, and applies a surface amount of bacta to the wound.

Ahsoka veers the ship harshly in one direction, and he nearly lands on the boy. “Having issues?” He calls from the back.

“Just a minor Imperial blockade. No big deal.”

Blast that girl and her sarcasm. She jolts them back the other way, but this time he’s ready and maintains his balance.

A few more swerves and turns and then he feels the familiar tug of hyperspace on the ship. She stands behind him a few moments later.

“How do you think he’ll hold up?”

Roan shakes his head, the anxiety and fear creeping in. He didn’t have to stay focused on getting them all out alive, now. Now, he can worry. “He needs treatment. Soon.”

“I’m taking us on a longer route to try and throw the Empire off our tail.”

“Let’s hope he’s strong enough to hold on that long.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

_The sound of waterfalls. Green grasses. A palace. A little girl with dark brown hair that curls down half her back. Her eyes match her hair colour, lighting up as she giggles over the butterfly that brushes her nose. She looks so happy, so peaceful—_

_The vision turns, replaced now with a feeling of cold. A basement. Caretaker droids. The girl is an infant, sleeping in a crib, an old withered hand reaching down towards her. He feels anger at this unseen figure, daring to touch something so pure with his dark, defiled hands. A mocking voice calls out to him in the darkness:_ Come and get her.

He jolts awake. The Temple is quiet; most of the inhabitants still sleep.  The crew from Pelagon returned in the wee hours of the morning. A quick brush of his mind to his Master’s reveals that he’s still asleep. He gets up and checks on Luke, still sleeping soundly in his crib, unperturbed by his father’s night mares.

A trip to the “cafeteria” provides him a cup of caf, and then he makes his way down to their computer center. This dream has been recurring for days, more intense each time. He won’t make the same mistake he did with his mother, not when his daughter’s life could be at risk.

He pulls up every file he can on Naboo, looking at the frequency of official visits, shipping records, anything that would give him a clue as to the validity of his visions. One image pops up to the right of the screen, titled “Footage of the Funeral of Our Beloved Queen”; the image: Padmé’s body, draped in a blue dress, curls falling around her head. He blinks away tears, and closes out that image. He’ll watch that another time.

It seems that the Imperial yacht has made several trips to Theed recently, the most recent during the Festival of Light. Illegal gossip magazines report that the Emperor disappears for hours at a time each time he visits. They speculate a woman—and that, quite frankly, is an image Anakin could’ve lived without.

“What are you doing up so early?”

Blast. That brush earlier must’ve roused Obi-Wan from his sleep. He stood behind him now, hair tousled, still in his sleep-clothes, and with Luke nestled in an arm.

“Checking something. Sorry I woke you.”

“Visions again?”

Trust him to hit the nail right on its head. “Yeah. The little girl again. I don’t want to make the same mistake here that I did with my mother, but I also don’t want to run into a trap.”

“Wise thinking,” Obi-Wan says, his pride evident. He walks forward to read what’s pulled up on the screens. “And you’re thinking Naboo?”

“It’s just the kind of thing Sidious would pull. Forcing me to go to the homeworld of my dead wife to get my child that he stole.” He takes a breath, trying to release his anger. “But if I make that journey, I want two things. My legs to work, and to be able to take out Sidious once we’re there. There’s another event going on in two standard weeks that he’s scheduled for, and most of the Senate is expected to go. I was thinking, maybe if we went, got the girl, and let Bail keep her under his protection while he was there, it would give us time to get Sidious, and I wouldn’t have to worry about her.”

Obi-Wan is silent for a long while. “You’ve given this a lot of thought. You’re sure she’s there.”

“I have to be.”

He smiles at him. “Very well. I guess we’re headed for Naboo. We’ll have to let Bail know of our plan ahead of time. I’m sure we’ll receive quiet the lecture.”

It's times like these he's reminded why he loves this man like a father. He's so supportive, but never blindly so. If he's giving it his okay, then he trusts Anakin's plan will work. “Maybe Ahsoka can come, too?”

“That would be nice.”

And with that, it’s decided. He leans over and kisses the top of his son’s head. “Hear that, Luke? We’re gonna bring your sister home.”


	27. Through Many Dangers, Toils and Snares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.  
> The next time I post, I'll be in London!!!

Caleb won’t last much longer. Roan can feel it. This isn’t the first time Caleb’s faced death, but last time he was able to escape. He can’t run from it this time.

Ahsoka’s course adds a full day on to their travel time. A full day longer than Caleb can go.

“Are there any independent medical stations between us and Lothal?”

“I’ll have to look. One second.” Her face turns grim. “None. Do you really want to risk him with our limited healing staff?”

It seems she has a plan in mind. “We can take the bypass and reach Polis Massa in almost the same amount of time.”

He glances back at Caleb. “Is it unaffiliated?”

“No Imperial contact whatsoever. Either they haven’t made it this far, or there’s no reason for them to bother.”

He considers her for a moment. If it’s the same distance…“Set course.”

He runs a hand over his face and walks back to sit on the small bed next to the boy. Wishing he was a healer, he takes Caleb’s hand in his and closes his eyes. Drawing up the Force within in, he pushes what little healing energy he can into the boy’s body. He can feel the damage the blaster shot has done. The wound is cauterized, so he’s not losing blood to the outside, but the force of this hit has body has rattled the organs in his abdomen. Hydrostatic shock is the first problem. Burning is the second. The wound has continued to burn since it tore into his shoulder. It takes time to cool superheated plasma; a douse in a bacta tank would have stopped it hours ago.

 _No, don’t get distracted._ He tries to refocus, centering and pushing energy back into Caleb’s body. The boy’s mind leans into the mental touch. He tries to grasp on to it, but he slips, allowing Roan to reach out and grab it instead. He holds on to Caleb’s mind and glances over at the ETA. Fourteen standard hours to go.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Polis Massa looks uninviting. The asteroid’s surface is scattered with small compounds, most of them connected underground, but from the surface they look like tiny groups of people who don’t want ot interact with each other. Maybe that was the reason behind their less than enthusiastic “proceed” they’d given Ahsoka. Maybe they just don’t want to be bothered.

They fly over a few work crews, suited up in space suits moving to and from the facility. Ahsoka eases them into the landing bay, and even before the ramp has lowered, Roan has already unhooked Caleb and gathered him into his arms. He’s running out of time.

He bounds down the ramp and wordlessly follows the medical droids and staff to the hospital section. They take Caleb from him almost immediately.

“I’m sorry, Sir. We need you to wait out here while we treat him.”

“Now wait just a min—”

Durasteel doors close in his face, and it takes all he can do to walk away. The more irrational side of his mind tells him to cut the door open, but he’s not about to go down that road.

Ahsoka waits in a chair in the hallway, holding a cup of some kind of tea in her hand and a sandwich in the other. An identical meal sits on the table between an empty chair and the one she’s occupying.

He sits down and takes a bite of something other than ration bars and says “Thanks.”

She smiles at him, a knowing smile, and looks far older than her eighteen years. “You’re worried. Don’t be. These guys are some of the best, and he’s a tough kid. He’ll pull through.”

“He hates being called ‘kid.’”

He finishes his meal and moves to stand by the window, looking out in to the vastness of space. So much has changed in the galaxy of late, but still, he feels at peace when he looks out into the stars. He stands there for what seems like hours, and when he checks the wall chrono, it’s been two. Ahsoka sleeps in the chair behind him. He directs his attention back to the viewport. Something moves in the distance. The Force tugs at him to take a closer look. He finds the moving mass headed in their direction. He can’t decipher what it is, but the Force whispers a warning.

A ship becomes evident, marked by the symbol of the Sith, heading straight for their complex. No. No. _No._ They had been so careful, and had sensed no one following them. Maybe he was just here to refuel and would be on his way.

An alarm sounds. Red lights begin to flash throughout the compound, and a voice shouts something in a language he doesn’t understand. Ahsoka bolts to her feet.

“It’s an inquisitor. They all feel the same in the Force. Cold, empty, uniform.”

A small figure waddles out to them. She wrings her hands, and fights for the words:“You hide. Man is here to collect information and supplies for Emperor. Name is Sancor.”

At least this one speaks Basic. “Is this a problem?”

“We have refused him many times. He is angry.”

A pissed Inquisitor. Lovely.

Ahsoka looks defeated. “We may need to move Caleb.”

“We can’t. He’s too weak.”

Roan looks down at the small figure. She’s shaking, wrapping herself further in her lab coat as if she is cold. She looks at him with fear in her eyes.

He kneels, and takes her small hand in his. Meeting her gaze, he says,“Take care of my boy, and I’ll take care of your Inquisitor.”

She nods, emphatic. “Thank you. We grateful.”

She runs to the safety of the medical center, and locks the doors. Ahsoka stands beside him, white blades already ignited. “What are we waiting for?”

_Pull through, Caleb._

They move to the hanger on the other side of the facility, following the sound of screams. A lightsaber can be heard between the shouts as they get closer. They stay in the hallway waiting for him to round the corner.

But two figures step out of the hanger.

Roan ignites his saber to face Sancor. But Ahsoka freezes, staring wide eyed at the face in front of her.

“Hello, Ahsoka. It’s been awhile. I heard the Jedi betrayed you, too. Not surprised to see you back with them though.”

“Barriss?” She whispers. Roan’s heart twisted. He’d heard Barriss trial over the HoloNet during the war. Luminara had been heartbroken. He knew she’d been angry, but he never expected this.

Before Ahsoka could respond, Barriss leapt at her, blade spinning in time with her jump. Roan reacted to Sancor’s blade, raising his and locking it with his opponent’s. He and Ahsoka needed more room to move; fighting two battles in one hallway is a bad idea.

She understands this, too, and with a hard push shoves Barriss back toward the hanger, and jumps over her head, leaving Roan to pull his enemy in the other direction. He gives ground backing down the hallway. The Inquisitor’s blade work is good, too good, and he wonders if this is also a fallen Jedi. So many fall always when the going gets hard.

He narrowly blocks a blow to his head moving back to take his first offensive strike, testing the waters. Sancor blocks it with ease. Roan needs to find a way to use environment against him. He feels for an open room, a wider room, and finds one behind him. He gives more ground backing them toward the room. Using the Force, he waves the door open, and leads his enemy into an operation room.

 _Firefek._ He’d have to apologize to the medical staff for any broken equipment.

Sancor throws another blow at his head, and Roan feels his hair singe. They block and parry and clock and parry, and bind and counter bind, and he knows lightsaber combat is going to get them nowhere. Roan is older and will eventually tire. He leaps back, tucking his feet up to keep them safe from the lightsaber, and lands behind an examination table. He picks up the table and flings it at him with the Force, hitting the Inquisitor in the stomach. The humanoid stumbles a bit, falling against a bacta tank, and Roan flings his hand out again trying to knock him into a wall. At the same time, the inquisitor throws his saber, forcing the Jedi to jump out of the way, but not fast enough to avoid injury. The blade catches his leg, cutting into the side, not enough to sever, but enough to _hurt_.

Unable to direct his Force Push, it knocks into the Sith but doesn’t knock him toward the wall. The humanoid falls into a surgical pit on the floor, cries out, then goes still.

Heart pounding, fearing a trick, the Jedi limps forward to peer into the pit, lightsaber at the ready. In front of him, his enemy lays flat on the table, with a number of sharp objects poking up through his chest and head. It’s not until he sees the scalpel that poked through his brain and out of his eye, that Roan is satisfied that he’s dead.

He comms Ahsoka. “Sancor is dead. How it going?”

 _“I could use some—“_ The sound of a near miss. _“—assistance if you’ve got the time.”_

He leaves his foe behind, picking up his lightsaber on the way out the door. Ignoring the burning in his leg, he runs toward the hanger where the Sith had landed, following the sound of battle and the hum of lightsabers. Once he passes through the blast doors, he sees that the hanger is in disarray, wires hanging from the ceiling and scorch marks covering the walls. Ahsoka and Barriss are nearing the airlock with every step, which gives him an idea.

Leaning against the wall, he pushes Barriss back through the Airlock, holding her in place directly outside. Ahsoka watches in horror as her friend slowly dies in the vacuum of space.

“Ahsoka, down!” He pulls the Inquisitor back in, and drops her to a heap in the floor.

The not-Jedi picks up her fallen friend’s lightsaber. She closes her eyes for a moment, as if bidding her friend farewell, before she whirls around to face him. “She’s not dead!”

Leaning further into the wall—the pain in his leg is almost unbearable—he grins. “She has more use to us alive than dead. But we need her unconscious. Let’s get her to treatment so we can get out of here before the Empire realizes they’ve gone missing.

Ahsoka picks her friend up and carries her back to medical, Roan limping along the wall and following closely behind. She gets her securely in the arms of staff and is showered with the thanks of the locals.

The small one from earlier rugs at Roan’s sleeves. He kneels down to face her again.

“You take care of ours,” she says, struggling with the words. “We take care of yours. He is awake now.”

She leads him to the room where Caleb convalesces. The moment he sees his Padawan, tension leaves his shoulders.

Caleb spots him in the doorway. “Master? What happened? I heard…I felt…danger?”

The boy is still weak, but he leans into the hand Roan runs through his hair. “Nothing to worry about. We took care of it. Get some rest, Padawan.” He leans a Force suggestion into his words.

“I rest…so much…”he says, eyes drifting closed again. “I want to do something…”

Roan smiles at his sleeping Padawan. He hopes he’ll be strong enough to move soon. The Empire will be coming again. The Polis Massan’s should, too, for their safety. He wondered if their four man council would approve a highly trained team of medical staff moving into the Temple.

Yeah, they might.


	28. Stand Firm, the Storm is Coming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.   
> Found a lovely little cafe to write this in. There are lots of those it in London it seems.  
> Sorry this took forever!

When he dreams, he sees Master Billaba. Sees her sitting in meditation in the Temple gardens, or patching up one of his wounds. Sometimes, he can hear her voice. Most often though, he sees her the night she died, sitting and laughing with her troops.

Caleb sits up from his bunk, eyes darting around the cargo hold. He vaguely remembers packing the few of the Polis Massans who wanted to leave onto the ship. Many of them chose to stay behind, saying the Empire wouldn’t take their home without a fight. Caleb knows that the Empire won’t even touch the surface; they’ll blow the station up from a distance and move off as if nothing happened. Master Roan didn’t have the heart to tell them that, so Caleb didn’t either.

He still feels groggy and weak, but the medical staff said that would be normal for the next few days. Pushing the blankets off, he stands to his feet, legs wobbling, and makes his way to the cockpit where Ahsoka and his Master sit. His teacher looks up at him as he enters, and Caleb greets him with a week bow.

“How are you feeling?”

Caleb collapses into a chair. “A bit better.” He shivers. “Is there any caf left?”

“I’ll get you some,” Roan says standing. He deposits his cloak onto Caleb’s lap on the way out the door.

Caleb notices the limp in his Master’s leg, as he leaves the room. He spends too much time worrying about Caleb; he hasn’t seen to his own wound.

He curls up into the brown fabrics, grateful for the warmth it provides. His Master returns moments later and hands him the cup, leaving his hand brushing Caleb’s for a bit longer than normal. He feels the gentle brush of his Master’s mind on his, a checkup for him to be sure he’s on the mend.

They hear a muffled shout, and Ahsoka flinches. She appears to shake it off, focusing back on the swirling blue of hyperspace outside the viewport. Caleb knows it’s from Barriss. He can’t believe he used to look up to her. He played in the Temple Gardens with her and her friends when they were little. He remembers being scolded on multiple occasions for climbing on one of the older, more fragile trees, or splashing in the fountains. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Barriss would have been the one responsible for bombing the Temple.

He’d been shocked, understandably, but now, to see her as a Sith? He can’t believe she has gone that far. She wails again, and Caleb feels Ahsoka’s grief, her heartbreak at the condition of her friend. His Master leans over. Asks her a question he can’t hear. She nods, and he gets up and goes to the back. Minutes later, she’s silent. Drugged her again.

The idea of it makes him uncomfortable. He’d thought her the perfect apprentice; she never did anything that could even be considered insolent. If she could fall, what was stopping the rest of them?

_Beware the Dark Side, Jedi._

A shiver runs through him. That voice again. He tries to shift to look out the viewport, but he pulls something in his chest, stopping to lean back in his chair. He looks forward to the days when he can move again without _something_ hurting.

Ahsoka comms the Temple on encrypted channel as they approach Lothal, and he’s never been so happy to see the grass planet in his life. Ten minutes until they land; ten minutes until a Jedi healer can finish making him well.

There are four armed Jedi to escort Barriss to her make-shift holding cell. Anakin’s jaw drops as she’s escorted in, and he sets and hand on Ahsoka’s shoulder. Caleb hears him whisper something to her, sees her nod her head, and leave the room, covering tears.

Shaak Ti takes him and Master Roan away to the Halls of Healing. He tries to go after Ahsoka, but Shaak Ti restrains him.

“She needs time, Caleb. And so do you. Now, come.”

The Polis Massans follow her to the Halls, excited chatter going on among the group. He’s glad they’re happy to be in this cave.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Anakin finds his former student sitting out in a field south of the town, bottle of something in her hand. She doesn’t look up when he approaches; she just takes another swig from her drink.

“Can I sit?” He asks, hoping she wouldn’t turn him away.

She says nothing, but gestures for him to sit. Looking down at her drink, she grimaces. “Sorry. I forget the Jedi have this weird thing about alcohol.”

He laughs. “Obi-Wan may talk like he’s serious about that, but have you ever actually been on a mission with the guy? The man never refuses an offered drink.”

She hands him the bottle, and he takes a sip off the top before passing it back. He watches her movement, her shoulders slumping. Barriss’ state has affected her more than he thinks she wants to admit to herself.

“I don’t understand how someone could fall so far.” She moves a bit closer to him. Finishing her drink, she tries to change subject. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. She has information we can use. We just have to get it out of her.”

Barriss might have intel on Sidious and Naboo. She may have information on his daughter. This is not an opportunity they can afford to miss.

 “Getting it out of her could be a challenge.”

Ahsoka scoffs. “She’ll break. Everyone breaks.”

“That’s a little dark, Ahsoka.”

She leans her head on his shoulder. “Sorry. That’s my anger talking. But there’s some truth to that. She _will_ crack eventually. I wish Luminara were still alive. She could draw it out of her.”

The breeze rustles the tall grasses, one brushing against his cheek. She closes her eyes and lets it sweep over her. Anakin would never admit this, but he much prefers this Temple to the one on Coruscant. The city was nice, but he’s still a boy from a desert and plant life still excites him. Moments like this, he can forget all that’s happening around them: the Empire, the Purge, everything he’s lost. It feels like normal life again, like the missions he and Obi-Wan would go on before the war. The kind he wishes Ahsoka could’ve experienced.

He says none of that, and dips his head down to hers. “We’ll use what we have against her, and do our very best to gather everything we can. She’ll need to be kept hidden from the Empire. She has a lot of information that could hurt us, too.”

“True.” She gives him a brief glance. “What are you planning?”

He fakes offence. “Why do I have to be planning anything? Maybe I’m just spending valuable time, comforting my grown up former apprentice.” Her stare doesn’t waver. He cracks. “Fine, I think I may have found my daughter’s location. On Naboo. But I don’t want to go in without being sure.”

“You’ve gotten much more reserved about your mission procedure lately. Less jumping into and more planning before.”

He taps his legs. “I can’t jump right now. So, you know. Still working on that.”

She laughs then, a real honest laugh, and he’s glad to hear it. Glad to hear he can still pull her out of her slumps. He stands then and offers her a hand.

“Let’s go get some intel.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Obi-Wan’s been standing outside the door for a while. Windu is with her now. He’s acquired footage of Luminara’s death, and he’s been asking her how she thinks her Master would rest in the Force if she knew where Barriss was now. Obi-Wan’s been pleased to see that Barriss still has some semblance of right emotion. She’s had tears on her cheeks ever since Windu brought in the video. The Inquisitor tries to lash out at him periodically, but her chains hold her just out of reach. Force suppressant working in full swing, she’s powerless now.

It’s been almost an hour, and Windu chooses to leave now.

“She’s resilient. I’ll give her that. We’re going to have to change tactics.”

“Let me talk to her.”

Both Masters turn to see Ahsoka and Anakin standing at the back of the room. Ahsoka has one hand crossed over her body, holding on to her other arm. It’s a position Obi-Wan knows means she’s uneasy, nervous. It’s not something he sees from the seventeen-year-old that often; she radiates confidence, everything she’s gone through has built that up in her. She stands tall above the troops she commands, and she leads with ease. Anakin saw it at Mandalore, and told him all about it when he returned to Coruscant. Seeing her brought up all the old pain of her leaving, and he’d wept telling him. But he’d bene undeniably proud.

Ahsoka takes a step towards the cell door, Anakin’s hand falling from her shoulder. She stops in front of the door. Her hand drops from her arm, and she stands straighter. She’s not going to let herself be intimidating. Obi-Wan is proud of her in this moment, too.  The door slides open, creaking in its track. Barriss looks up as she approaches, contemptuous and sneering. Ahsoka stands in front of her.

“I’d like to be alone for a few moments,” is all she says.

The door slides closed.

*  *  *  *  *  * *

His guards drag the now dead messenger out of his office. He sharply informs them to not let anyone else back in his office, and to promote some new recon officials. They’ve gone through three this week.

Two entire research facilities gone. Three Jedi, an ex-Jedi, a clone, and two _children_ took these from him. On top of this, he lost two inquisitors to that same group. He has to admit he gained some satisfaction from the destruction of Polis Massa. Imperial weaponry made that asteroid into many smaller asteroids. Offee’s disappearance concerns him. He can’t sense her, so he suspects Force suppressants, which means she’s been captured.

No matter. She’s replaceable. He turns attention back to drawing out Skywalker. Even these minor setbacks will not Surely Offee will taunt him with information about the other Skywalker. This opens up an opportunity for him to face him again. Skywalker will not long contain his anger when he kills his daughter in front of him. And if Kenobi comes along—which is almost guaranteed—he can get rid of him as well.  

He calls in two of his other Inquisitors. “Ready yourselves to go to Naboo. We will have guests there in a few days.”

They bow and leave him. Standing to his feet, Sidious raises his hood and walks to his personal landing platform. His attendants bow and go about settling him in.

“There is no rush,” he says. “All is happening in good time.”

 

 

 

 


	29. Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween all!  
> As usual, Unbeta'd, all mistakes mine.

Obi-Wan hesitates before leaving Ahsoka to deal with her former friend. If it was Anakin, he’d be tempted to stay around, just in case. But Ahsoka has always been a touch more level headed.

He and Anakin leave her to her questioning, and Obi-Wan plans a much needed conversation in his head. Naboo is going to be a struggle, for all involved, and he needs to know Anakin is ready. Needs to know he can keep a level head, not rush in, and stay focused amongst all of the emotions he’ll be flooded with. Almost fourteen years ago, Naboo is where their journey began. He doesn’t want it to be where it ends.

Anakin’s been quiet. He’s spent a lot of time with Luke and alone in meditation. And while years ago Obi-Wan would have wept with joy at Anakin deciding to meditate _on his own_ and without threat of some sort of punishment—crèche duty had been his least favourite, but it turns out that might have been useful after all—it bothers him that his Padawan has been so still, so subdued. It’s not the Anakin that he has come to know.

 _But Order 66 changed both of you._ His mind reminds him.

And it’s right.

Four months have passed since the order fell. Four standard months since his life changed forever. Four standard months and he hasn’t allowed himself to sort through all that has happened. Anakin has been his priority, and that doesn’t bother him. But he feels like he’s been running on emotional empty, and he can’t find that balance that he used to dwell in. Meditation is dangerous; sinking too far can open himself up to being found by anyone looking. The Force feels turbulent, and he’s had a hard time breaking through the smothering of the Dark Side and into some semblance of peace. He’s been sensitive to it ever since Zigoola, and it had been a problem more than once on missions.

_The computer signaled their approach to Dathomir. Ten minutes. Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting off an intensifying headache. This had been happening since his excursion into Wild Space with Bail. The Dark Side nips at him. Rattatak had been hell. Zigoola had been bad, but the added element of torture made Rattatak’s Dark Side influence unbearable. He had been grateful when his captor blocked off his connection to the Force with that awful mask._

_He shuddered. Anakin noticed, but said nothing._

_That was, until the pain got worse. He gripped the back of the pilot’s chair, just above Anakin’s shoulders. Simple headache turned to migraine, and he tried to release his pain to the Force. His former student began to show concern. He’d turned around now, staring his Master down._

_“What’s wrong? And don’t tell me you’re fine, because you’re not.”_

_“Migraine.” He grated out, collapsing in the other chair. Except these migraines hurt from his head down. The Dark Side had cracked him, and even though that pain had healed, he was scarred. And every now and again, those scars burn._

_“Again?” Anakin leaned in, keeping his eyes on his Master’s face, like he was waiting for something worse._

_He nodded. And without a word, he felt Anakin’s mind brush his, and they fell into a familiar state, a state of preparation before missions. Obi-Wan had the focus required, but Anakin provided a channel for him to send the pain. Minutes later, he’s fine, headache just a dull pulsing in the back of his head. He couldn’t guarantee it would stay gone. But it would do for now._

He shakes himself out of that memory. No time to dwell on that now. He needs time to find his center before they leave for Naboo, and so does Anakin.

Obi-Wan feels it before it happens, and Anakin stumbles a bit beside him, batting his helping hands away, agitated. Red in the face—despite all that’s happened, he’s still got his pride—he assures him that he’s fine.

Luke has been placed back in his make-shift cradle by Ahsoka before she came into Barriss’ interrogations. He’s sleeping, content and calm, swaddled up in cloths, which means Anakin most likely won’t disturb him. Now is a good time to have this conversation.

The younger Jedi takes off his boots, belt and outer tunic and lays back on his pallet. Obi-Wan feels Anakin’s focus drift from his legs. He wonders if the constant use of the Force tires him, or if he’s growing used to it. But he doesn’t want to pry. His legs would be an issue on Naboo. If it _is_ something to do with the Dark Side affecting his control, all they can do is pray that Sidious won’t be there. They need time to work on this before they left, too.

They need _time_.

But time is something he knows they don’t have.

“Master?”

His thinking must show on his face. Anakin sits up, using his arms to reposition his legs to a more comfortable position. Concern shows through the tiredness on his Padawan’s face. He looks older than his twenty-three years when he’s tired, the strain of three years of war evident in his features.

“I’m alright. Just distracted.” He nods at Anakin’s legs. “Have you seen your healers this week?”

He shifts a bit uncomfortably, looking not unlike a he did as a youngling after he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “I…haven’t, no.”

The older Jedi sighs and moves to sit across from him, intent on serving as his healer this time. He has stayed around to observe Shaak Ti’s ministrations, ever trying to learn more about the Healing Force. Lanteeb taught him this much: that each time he needs to act as healer, he needs to have a better idea of what he is doing.

This at least is familiar. They’d patched each other up many times over the course of the war, when one or both of them were too tired to search out a medic. He places his hands first on Anakin’s right leg, takes a deep breath, and lets the Force flow through him. It greets him as an old friend, the warmth of the Light Side easing his worries and fears, enabling him to be completely centered, focused. Anakin fusses at him each time he does this, each time he tries to heal him, because they both know it can be dangerous to use the Force like this. It puts too much strain on an untrained Jedi, but for Obi-Wan, these moments are some of the few times he can feel the Light Side, pure and untainted by the Dark since the Order fell. This has become a sort of meditation for him; a time when he can _let go_ and let the Force guide him, without fear.

He directs the Force into the nerves in Anakin’s legs and up into Anakin’s lumbosacral spine with as much gentleness as he can. This is the most difficult part, pushing the Force into the tiniest and most fragile of structures. He can sense the damage in the fibers, but there’s scaring too. Pushing deeper, he can see the layers where the nerves have been healed and then reinjured. Anakin’s using of the Force to make his legs function undoes much of the work of the healers. He’ll need to be off his feet for a while after they rescue his daughter. Obi-Wan understands keeping Anakin down is an almost impossible challenge, but it’s a challenge he’s willing to take. The few months he’ll have to deal with sulking and passive aggressive comments—and attempts to get out of his bedrest—will be worth it when Anakin is well enough to run and play with his kids.

Anakin’s presence stirs; Obi-Wan’s lost his focus, and Anakin can sense his distraction. He centers himself, finishing up what work he can before extracting his mind from the delicate work of healing, and returning to their small quarters in the Temple.

“You got distracted,” Anakin says.

Obi-Wan smiles. “Look who’s talking.”

Anakin laughs at that, and Obi-Wan moves to sit beside him. He glances over at Luke, who’s still sleeping soundly in his cradle. The girl would be joining him soon, of that Obi-Wan is certain. But first they need to have a conversation, he and Anakin, and he’s not sure where he should start.

“You keep reinjuring your nerves.” He blurts out. Not exactly how he wanted to start this conversation.

“What?”

“I’m sensing what I can only describe as scar tissue. The places that I and Master Ti have healed have been torn again. I think it’s the way you use the Force to make your legs work. It’s not gentle and precise the way it is when we push healing there; your use is more general.”

Anakin’s shoulders droop. “So I’m making it worse?”

“I think,” Obi-Wan says carefully, “that after we get your daughter and you stay off your legs for a while, we can fix it. Permanently.”

The look of hope on Anakin’s face at those words brought him dangerously close to tears.

“First we have to get Leia.”

“Leia?”

“That’s the name Padmé and I had chosen if we’d had a girl.”

Luke and Leia. He wonders if she’ll be more like Padmé. Selfishly, he hopes they both won’t take after Anakin. As much as he loves their father, raising him once was enough. Two more times would be too much. Perhaps he could enlist Ahsoka to help. The two of them are used to dealing with him. But Obi-Wan must admit, seeing Anakin get his just deserts via two little versions of him would be so satisfying.

“We’ll get her back, Anakin. But I have to know you’ll be up for this. I need to know you can manage. And I don’t just mean your legs.”

“I-I don’t understand.”

Here goes nothing. “Anakin, it is highly likely that Sidious will be waiting for us. Or that he’ll be there shortly after we set foot on Naboo. Are you going to be able to face him after what he put you through? Without anger, without hatred?”

Anakin stares him down with an intensity normally reserved for those he faces on the battlefield. “Are _you_?”

There’s no defiance in his voice, no rebellion. It’s an honest question, and so instead of pushing back, Obi-Wan listens.

“Master, your entire life fell down around you in one day. You saw the Temple, the damage, the _bodies_. It was never quite a home to me; home has always been people. But for you, I know the Temple, the Order was your home, and to see it destroyed like that…You haven’t taken the time to deal with it, because you’ve been so focused on me and on taking care of the few Jedi we have here. I _know_ you, and I know that to keep from dealing with things, you bury them so deep and throw yourself into some kind of distraction. So again, I ask, are you going to be able to face Sidious without all the hurt, all the damage he’s done spilling over?”

Trust Anakin to call out his deepest thoughts. The things he had been pondering before his work at healing Anakin must’ve bled over during his time of distraction. He doesn’t know if he’d ever told Anakin about how anger was a short coming for him as a Padawan, and how much it has pained him to see that same flaw in Anakin. And the thing is, now that he’s thinking about this question, Anakin’s words boring into his mind, he realizes he doesn’t have an answer.

“I don’t know.”

The boy drops his head to his shoulder. “Neither do I. But we’ll figure it out?”

 _Oh, Anakin. We’re two halves of a whole mess._ “Yes, I suppose we will.”

He leans in a bit more, forcing Obi-Wan to have to shift a bit. “As far as my legs go, we can do a test run, before we leave. We’ve only got to get to Naboo and back.”

“If you over do it, you could make them a lot worse than they are now. There is a point where no matter how skilled the healer, they’ll be too far gone.”

Obi-Wan feels him shake his head. “As long as we get her back, I don’t care if I never walk again. And I am _not_ letting you go alone. You get into too much trouble.”

“Yes, well, I learnt from the best.”

Anakin sobers again. “We keep each other human, Master. You’re always balancing me out, so I think, if we’re together, we can keep our focus where it needs to be.”

Obi-Wan swallows. “That’s a lot of trust.”

“Yeah,” he says, lifting his head then and moving to lay down, “but I trust you.”

He stands, helping Anakin get laid down before walking back to his own sleep couch. Shoving off his own boots, belt, and outer tunic, he places his lightsaber at the customary position near his pillow and waves a hand to cut off the lights.

“Goodnight, Master.”

“Goodnight, Padawan.”

It takes Obi-Wan a while to get comfortable, and he doesn’t know why he’s trying. Nightmares of their impending confrontation will fill his mind tonight, he knows it, but he’ll do his best to shield them from Anakin. There’s no reason for him to see _all_ of his fears. Not yet anyway.

_I haven’t survived all of this to watch you fall to the Dark Side, Little One. Don’t put me through that. Please, don’t put me through that._


	30. We'll meet on certain shores

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and other Holidays all!  
> I am in fact, still working on this fic. I just hit a bit of a plot hiccup.
> 
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.

Barriss stares at her. She gives her nothing, no words, no expressions, no movements: just a cold, silent glare from across the table. Ahsoka doesn’t even know where to begin, what questions to ask. She sits in silence across from her former friend, searching for words.

“Did you turn before or after Order 66?”

The inquisitor looks away then. “After. Just after.”

“So it wasn’t enough to betray the Jedi; you had to start killing them, too?”

She looks her, eyes narrowing, but with the smallest of smirks stretching across her face. “‘Them?’”

“I haven’t been a Jedi since your bombings and the resulting mess forced me out. But I’m still very much partial to their cause. What changed for you?”

Barriss shifts, leaning back, and for a moment Ahsoka thinks she’s done talking, which certainly won’t do. But before Ahsoka is prepared to make her talk, she speaks again. “Survival. I wanted to survive. And as a force-user, and a former Jedi, I knew that I’d have to spend my life on the run. And the last thing I wanted was to wake up with someone like me holding a red lightsaber to my neck.”

“Self-preservation at its finest.” It disgusts her. And looking at her now, Ahsoka loses all hope that she’ll ever be able to speak with her friend again. That Barriss is gone. This one feels like an animal, one that’s willing to do anything to make sure its hide stays intact.

Ahsoka stays silent, looking over the inquisitor physically and through the Force. Her injuries still feel like they’re causing her pain, but she’s not complaining, and frankly Ahsoka thinks it’s good for her. Pain makes it harder to concentrate, harder to lie. She’s not sure which questions she should ask, so she starts broad, hoping to disguise their intended mission to Naboo.

“We know Sidious has been testing weapons on different populations. Any of that involve him traveling off world?”

“Why would he when the purpose is to draw _you_ out? Being on Coruscant allows him to keep his eyes on the rest of the galaxy, and if he stays on Coruscant, he has to bring you into the heart of the Empire.”

Ahsoka smirks. “We’ve made it in and out once. Why does he think we couldn’t do it again? You’re shy one of your inquisitor friends now, thanks to Polis Massa.”

“You honestly believe there are only two of us?”

She says nothing, filing that bit of information away to be shared with the rest of the group later. _More than two. How many were stationed on Naboo? Were they stationed, or did they float around?_

If Sidious’ purpose is to draw them out by these attacks, there has to be more coming. There’d been two last month, and rumors of another imminent attack had been floating around Lothal. She made it her business to keep tabs on local gossip. While many times it was untrue, often there would be a thread of truth to farm mutterings. Not much else to do on this world than read the latest fake news on the Holonet threads.

Barriss stays silent, Ahsoka’s not sure how much more she can press without revealing too much of their own plan. It would be foolish to think the inquisitor isn’t dangerous just because she’s bound. If she gets away, she needs to have nothing to bring to Sidious. No intelligence, no numbers, no locations.

Ahsoka turns on her heel and stalks back toward the door, stopping when Barriss speaks.

“Just wait for what he’s planned next, ‘Soka.” She grins, a sinister and disturbing look under her yellow eyes. “Just wait.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

“We can’t just wait!” Anakin’s is near shouting now. And really, what did Ahsoka expect? “My _daughter_ is on Naboo, with the Sith Lord! And you want me to just sit here because it _might_ be a trap? Of course, it’s a trap!”

Obi-Wan trades a glance with her, and it’s almost chiding. “Anakin, calm down. Luke will start to fuss.”

Anakin’s eyes drift down to his son in Obi-Wan’s arms, and he takes a few breaths. The few seconds of quiet gives Ahsoka adequate time to prepare a sound argument.

“Getting into the Mid Rim will be a challenge in its own right, but since Sidious knows we have Luke, and knows we’ll be going after the girl.”

Her former master waves her off. “Obi-Wan and I will deal with whatever Sidious has waiting for us. We’ve handled Sith before.”

Instead of mentioning his legs, she tries a different route. “What if the trap he’s laid gets sprung on the people? What if he’s planning something similar to Maridun or Mon Cala?”

That gets his attention. None of them would soon forget the images from those attacks. Ahsoka has a nightmare occasionally, where she sees Lothal melting into a puddle around her, faces of people from the towns falling at her feet, flowing away as if in a stream. She wakes in a sweat each time, and finds herself going out to lay in the grasses for comfort.

“Ahsoka, regardless of what Sidious has planned, I have to get to Leia.”

“Even if it means more death?”

Obi-Wan steps behind the maps that Anakin has floating in the middle of the room. Naboo shows on one, major Imperial shipping routes on the other, each toll place clearly marked. “I’m not advocating for recklessness here, but I would suggest that it is likely that Sidious will use his weapon again whether we go after Leia or not. The past uses have had nothing to do with the likelihood of our visiting those particular worlds. He’s doing it to stir up fear. The only safety we can guarantee is the girl’s.”

Ahsoka sighs. Master Kenobi’s mind is as unchangeable as Anakin’s once he’s put it to something. There would be no point to argue. “I’ll watch Luke while you two run off and get yourselves killed.”

Both of them stared at her, aghast. To be honest, she’s not sure where her passive aggressiveness comes from. Likely Obi-Wan. Anakin tends to be much more direct. She nods at them both and all but huffs out of them room, planning on finding food and going back to interrogating Barriss.

*  *  *  *  *  *

He’s fallen on his back again. It takes everything in him not to curse and shout while he’s down on the floor, as that would definitely make him look like a child. His legs still feel unsure of themselves, but Obi-Wan has put him through the ringer, dueling the way they did during the war. Form IV pushes him to the limit, but each time he falls he gets back up, forcing his legs to cooperate. This time, though, he’s not able to get up before Obi-Wan leaps back at him, blades crossing above Anakin’s chest where he lays on the floor. Dripping with sweat, he shoves hard where Obi-Wan’s blade locks against his, and his Master goes stumbling back, catching his footing again—damned Soresu training—but not before Anakin manages to get back on his feet. Standing across from each other, blades held low, but Obi-Wan shakes his head quickly, signaling for them to stop.

They exchange a bow and deactivate their blades, and Anakin heads straight for the bench and grabs some water. Obi-Wan sits beside him, running a towel over his face, breathing hard. Anakin passes the older Jedi a cup of water, and fills his cup up again.

“How do you feel?” Obi-Wan asks when they both catch their breath.

“Sore. And my back hurts, but that’s more likely from the fall than my legs.” He shakes his head. “But no matter how much practice we do here, none of that will matter if it _is_ the Dark Side that messed with my control before.”

“I…had a thought about that. The Temple is built on a well of the Force, and it’s very possible that that’s what allowed him to disrupt your connection to your legs.”

He stood and refilled his cup. “And Naboo has no such well?”

“Not in any records. It’s worth a shot. And if he still manages to disturb you, we’ll know for next time.”

Anakin lets out a hard breath. “Ready to go again?”

His former Master runs a hand through the front of his hair. “Last one. I don’t bounce back like I used to.”

Lightsabers reignited, they give each other a short bow before going again. He misses times like these. Some of his favourite memories come from the hours spent in a training salle with his former Master, practicing and training and honing their skills. This type of exercise is play for them; Ahsoka used to call it a dance. A way to unwind during the stress of the war. Often, it’s a way for them to talk without talking, to let out frustrations and anger. He wonders if that’s what they’re doing now. There’s no reason for them to keep dueling—it’s an unnecessary risk on his nerves—yet it seems neither of them want to stop.

He thinks about their plan, his daughter, their conversation. He wonders what Obi- Wan is processing as they fight: is he thinking about Anakin’s question to him, or worrying about the mission? Or is he thinking at all? Maybe he’s using this as a distraction, a chance to get his mind off their current situation. It’s not something his Master would normally do; normally, he tries to stay focused. But they’ve both changed. Perhaps Anakin is now the more direct and reserved man, and Obi-Wan the one in need of distractions and tasks.

He doesn’t like that idea.

They wrap up their duel before too long. Tired, both head for the cafeteria. Ahsoka waits for them at the door, something feral in her eyes. She’s sweating, her tunics disheveled. Something tells Anakin she’s been interrogating.

“Barriss has been kind enough to reveal the Emperor’s next foray off world. He leaves tomorrow for a remote world in the Outer Rim to oversee some sort of weapons test. It’s far enough away from Naboo it’d take him a day to get there if you’re detected.”

He looks at his Master. “So, we should leave tomorrow, too.”

“That doesn’t give us much time to prepare. I’ll have some ration bars taken out of supply and put on board the shuttle.”

Anakin grabs the bowl off the tray and starts to walk toward the door. “I’ll go finalize plans and take the maps off the computers. Should be able to find her on scans if we can track group movements in the sub terrain channels—”

But Obi-Wan has already gone, and Ahsoka seems uninterested. Anakin understands; he tends to ramble when he gets caught up in his plans. She smiles at him though, a wish of good luck.

“Never mind. Thanks for your help, Ahsoka.”

He knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that when they return to Lothal, he’ll have his daughter. The Force has shown him that much. But part of its vision had been clouded by a feeling of dread, a feeling that this action would spark something worse: an end game of sorts. The rebellion isn’t ready for a full-blown conflict; they hardly have ten world on their side. Another war would come soon, and he thinks that once again, it will have its beginnings on Naboo.


	31. The darkness falls at our behest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.
> 
> Happy Late New Year, Y'all!  
> Minor Rouge One spoiler in the ending note.

He doesn’t want to be here. Just like he avoids Tatooine because of the memories it holds, he had hoped to never have to come back here. It hurts too much. But here they are, and here it sits, blue and green swirling outside his viewscreen. _Naboo_.

It looks peaceful from up here, quiet even. The night cycle has just begun, meaning their mission has to start as soon as they hit the ground. Obi-Wan’s been meditating since they jumped into hyperspace, but when he stands, he doesn’t look any more relaxed. Anakin understands. He’s certain they won’t experience a confrontation with Sidious himself—that knowledge settled in his mind hours ago, and he almost wept with relief when the Force revealed it to him—but a different feeling replaced it. He knows now that something more sinister brews on Naboo, lurking on the surface like a krayt dragon. The only advantage they have is that Sidious is off-world, and that none of the inquisitors know Theed as well as he does.

He hopes one day he can come back and pay Padmè a proper visit, maybe bring Luke and Leia to see her. On approach, he sends their falsified transponder codes to security and gets clearance to land. Obi-Wan has already changed into his disguise, slipping into the persona of a DeoSoli the same way Anakin and Ahsoka had on Coruscant. He takes the controls in time to allow Anakin to change. As much as he hates being covered from head to toe, the added layers of tightly bound cloths give him a feeling a support on his legs. It’s completely in his mind, but he’ll take whatever confidence boosting he can get. He settles the long flowing cloak over his head and shoulders, and rejoins his Master at the controls.

“We’ll land on one of the open platforms on the outside of the city. I don’t know how much time we’ll have before the Empire realizes our credentials are fake.”

“With the number they have to run through? Eight hours at least. Naboo is heavily trafficked.”

They find one of the only open landing pads, and get the ramp down as soon as the landing cycle completes. Moving with swiftness—but not enough to arouse suspicion—they get into the Theed rotunda, and split up. Anakin gets to a computer terminal and starts digging into anything that gives even a hint of a location for his daughter, while Obi-Wan sets to procuring a variety of keycards from Imperial officials who stand around the marketplace. He’s able to use the Force to get them off of them, as in their haste to avoid touching the DeoSoli, they don’t notice the small cards floating into Obi-Wan’s long, flowing cloak.

There’s no footage of odd comings and goings in the Palace itself, so he broadens the search to the surrounding buildings near the royal residence. He finds several clips of the queen wandering through the gardens and out by the waterfall, but on the camera nearest the waterfall, he finds something in the nighttime footage. A small doorway opens to reveal a turbolift hidden among the rock of the Palace. Dark hooded figures go in and out throughout the night, each time the door sliding back into place, hiding the turbolift under the unsuspecting rock face. He checks several days, tracking the patterns of the figures going in and out.

Convinced he’s found their entrance, he meets up with Obi-Wan at the opening of the rotunda, and they head out into the Theed night.

They can’t speak much, Imperial ears are everywhere, forcing them to rely on senses and feelings sent across the bond. For most, it wouldn’t be enough to convey a complicated step by step plan, but they have long passed the point in their lives where they need words. Two halves of a single warrior: that’s what the Holonet used to call them, and as corny and poetic as it sometimes sounded, there’s quite a bit of truth to it.

At the end of this street, they turn the corner, placing the river on one side of them and the back of buildings on the other. No cameras here, they jump up to the walkway that runs along the buildings, from there jumping on to the roofs. Their deep black disguises allow them to blend in with the shadows falling across the rooftops. The side of the palace they need hangs out over the river, not over the city, and as they approach, they begin to run out of structures to hide behind.

Up on the ledge, they’re vulnerable, but so far, they’ve seen little security. It feels too easy, and he starts to wonder what kind of measures are in place on the other side of the door. How many troopers, how many traps, how many inquisitors lurked, waiting for them inside the palace walls?

Obi-Wan gives him a gentle nudge and a look that says _:_ _Stay Focused. Stay Alert._

He closes his eyes, feeling for the locking mechanism in the Force. Tampering with it would give them away; the Force is harder to detect. Inserting the Force like a key, he’s able to push each piece in the right order, turning at the right time, and the door slides open. Obi-Wan leads the way inside, having sensed what was on the other side before Anakin got it open. They dart for a small, spiraling staircase to the left of the door, passing into one of the tunnels that juts off into the heart of the castle.

Obi-Wan puts a hand on his arm, and pulls him gently out of the soft, red light and onto a ledge infront of a blacked-out window. His former Master closes his eyes, and Anakin feels him reaching into the Force. He’s searching for Leia; with no map to rely on, wandering the palace aimlessly increases their chances of detection. Anakin had a hard time pinpointing her, so focused on his legs that searching for a signature too close to his own proved challenging. But Obi-Wan can feel his presence next to him, and sense hers, which even though it’s unique to her, still possess a touch of her father’s. Luke is much the same.

He steps out into the hallway again once he’s found her, and Anakin follows behind. Hand hovering about his saber hilt, they creep along the edges of the ramped hallways, Obi-Wan out in front, cutting into strange pathways and staircases and turbolifts, leading them down, down into the depths of the palace. Anakin knows they’re inside the hill now, the palace proper dozens of meters above them. If they encountered someone here, they’d have to be careful not to allow any detonations, else the whole thing might come down on their heads.

Anakin starts to search for others in the compound, scanning for troop numbers and potential inquisitors. The only menacing signature he detects is located above them in the Palace itself, so even after they triggered the alarm, they would have a bit of time before the Dark Sider user could catch up with them. No living security wander these halls, leading Anakin to suspect droids are in play. With no way to know what types of droids the Separatists had been working on before the end of the war, Anakin’s grip on his saber hilt tightens.

In the red light, he sees his Master’s face draw up tight. They stop in front of a door on the right side of their current hallway. He sees to say: _Though here._

They take a breath and begin to try and get the door open. The locking mechanism is complicated and appears to be armed. If they get the sequence wrong even once, the facility will lock down, alarms blaring, blast doors closing. Anakin briefly considers just cutting through the door, until Obi-Wan points out the ray shield emitter above the door. To deactivate the ray shield, they have to have the proper key.

And they don’t. Anakin kneels in front of the lock. He’s the machine expert here, so he takes the lead. In his mind, he sees the sequence of presses a keycard must make, but he’s unsure of the timing. He tries to feel the hum of the electronics, looking for some sense of a pattern. He follows one strand and lets his mind press the keys in that timing. It’s an educated guess, but still a guess, and when the door slides open, he remembers to breathe again.

No time for a break, he regathers his wits and follows Obi-Wan inside. There are security droids deactivated along the walls—a type he’s never seen before, and frankly doesn’t want to fight—and he feels like their eyes are on him. Various equipment lines the walls, surrounding a small box-like structure on a pedestal in the center.

He pulls the fabric down off his face, and tentatively approaches the pedestal. It disturbs him that he can’t see into the box during his approach; he wants to prepare himself to meet his daughter. He expects a smiling, moving baby. What he finds is quite different.

The girl lay motionless and pale, the tone of her skin accented by the charcoal black blankets she lays under. When he pulls back the covers, an array of drips show from her little arms. The tubes run down into the floor beneath; Anakin moved to disconnect them, but is stopped before he can unhook anything.

“We don’t know what he’d got her on. We must be cautious. Let me get into the panel and read the contents.”

It’s the first time either of them have spoken during their “assault” on the palace, but it’s still barely a whisper. He kneels on the opposite side, giving Anakin a moment with Leia. He runs a finger across her cheek, and two through the thin layer of brown hair on her head. It’s already clear that she will take after Padmé, at least in appearance. He can sense her signature now that he’s closer, and it feels more like his than Luke’s does. Turbulent. Fiery. And incredibly faint. Sidious must have her on a Force suppressant. Which surprises him. Cutting a child off from the Force is known to delay development of their abilities. If Sidious hopes to keep her to himself—a Skywalker with an incredibly high midi-chlorian count—he’s doing unimaginable damage to her development of control.

Unless that is his intention.

Someone possessing that amount of natural power with no semblance of control over it: she would be a dangerous weapon. If she was older, she could destroy worlds, and it wouldn’t take long for her to destroy herself. Using the Force like that put incredible strain on one’s body and mind.

She’s only six months old, but he’d be naïve to think that she might not already be a danger, and there is no ascertaining how much damage has been done until she gets older.

Obi-Wan looks up at him. “She’ll need to be treated as soon as possible, but we need to get her unhooked. I’ve made note of all the things in these drips.”

With care and caution, they begin to get her unhooked, and it breaks Anakin’s heart to count the number of needles in her little frame. Each pinprick wound bleeds a bit, but quickly scabs over. Anakin takes this time to fasten the fabric that had covered his head and neck in to a sort of baby carrier. This would shatter their cover story, but it’s the only way to get Leia out and keep his hands free. He settles his hands on either side and lifts her from her cradle.

The alarms sound.

Around them, the droids kick on. Two leave the room, but the rest turn to face them, armed, red-eyes glowing. Lightsabers ignite as the first shots are fired. Obi-Wan stays facing the largest number of them—his form is designed for deflection—and he deals with the three behind them. They move toward the door slowly, Anakin watching for the two droids that left to make their way back in. Obi-Wan has taken out two of the five behind them. Three to go.

Anakin gets one down via deflection and leaps toward one out of chance. He hates to put Leia this close to danger, but they need to even the playing field a bit. But as soon as he does that, he hears an explosion behind him.

These droids apparently have rocket launchers. Obi-Wan manages to deflect the first two, sending one into one of the offending droids, but he won’t be able to keep it up for long. He’ll miss one eventually, and that’s not something they can afford to let happen.

Obi-Wan seems to notice that Anakin has taken to facing his head on, and he pushes his remaining two back against the wall, hard, before turning and doing the same to Anakin’s two. It doesn’t destroy them, but it gives them a chance to get out the door and back into the complex. Still no sign of the other two, which makes Anakin worry. It’s possible they had some sort of contingency plan, but they don’t have time to go off after them. They’ll just deal with what comes.

It’s not long before the droids Obi-Wan had blown away get back after them. The compound seems more winded than before, or maybe it’s just that their running so fast that Anakin can’t keep track of where exactly they are. Leia is fussy—which is understandable; getting shot at makes him quite fussy too—and that doesn’t help his concentration. Anakin feels her little body trying to reach out into the Force to defend herself, something all Force sensitive children do when they feel unsafe, but she’s pumped so full of suppressors that the effort aggravates her. He tries to send soothing waves to her, whilst jumping over lasers, deflecting blaster bolts and keeping his blasted legs moving. His legs begin to hurt; a dull ache that grows to a cramp. Pushing through the pain, he’s aware that it won’t be long before they encounter the inquisitor.

Or so he thinks, until they get back out into the cool night air, and they see his ship leaving the planet’s surface, along with a few others. It’s unlikely they’ve been summoned off-world, not with a security breech this large, and Anakin decides they’re going to have to fight them in the air.

At least he can do that sitting down.

Rather ungracefully, they jump down onto the rooftops the same way that they came up, missing exploding rockets by a few centimeters each time. He sees holes forming in homes and businesses around him, feeling terribly sorry for whoever is sleeping underneath. He hopes they can find shelter from the rubble.

They see their ship, sitting relatively unguarded and increase their speed, making a quick scan for any traps or droids or tanks that may be lurking in the shadows. Droids gaining on them, they jump to the landing platform one after the other, and are onboard before the ramp has even had time to close. He’s passing Leia to Obi-Wan before he can think, firing up the engines and getting them up into the atmosphere.

There are no ships waiting for them up here.

Something strikes Anakin as very, _very_ wrong.

“This was too easy.” He mumbles, half to himself and half to Obi-Wan.

Before his master can respond, they both feel it.

Similar to what they felt months ago, during the tragedy on Maridun, a screaming erupts in the Force, and Leia screams with it. Anakin fumbles to get the HoloNet on, as dangerous as it may be, to try and get a glimpse of what’s happening on the planet.

Live coverage is reporting that a known fugitive, Anakin Skywalker, and a man who can only be Obi-Wan Kenobi have unleased their weapon once again. This time on Naboo.

Rage surges through him. He wants to throw something, to scream, to attack, to do anything but sit here as he watches all organic life on Naboo melt away to nothing just like Maridun.

Sidious has used his weapon again, and he laid the perfect trap. Allow Anakin to get his daughter, and while he’s distracted, send two droids off to begin the sequence that would release the weapon, killing the planet and framing the “Jedi Rebellion” for all of it. It’s sinister and sickening, and he can’t believe they didn’t see it coming.

He looks at his former Master. Obi-Wan has tears on his face, echoing his own.

With public opinion now firmly rooted against the Jedi, this looks like their declaration of war. A war that would once again find its start on Naboo. A war he knows the Jedi aren’t prepared to fight.

He stares out of the viewport, watching the green grasses of the planet fade to black, watching the waters turn a variety of colours. In the Force, he feels the death, and he opens himself up to it, a self-inflicted punishment for his naivety, his arrogance. He kneels on the floor of the ship leaning into to Obi-Wan as he leans into him, and running a hand over his daughter’s head, trying to ease her pain. She has no shields to save her from this. She feels it completely. They stay that way for a while, even after the HoloNet system has switched off, waiting for Leia’s screaming to quiet.

When it finally does, they know it’s over. Anakin secures the ship so their HoloNet access can’t be traced, before getting up and leaving the cabin. Obi-Wan jumps them into hyperspace, without a word.

Anakin hears three words running through both their minds over and over again, and he can’t seem to get it to stop, to quiet even for a moment. He knows he’ll see these words each time he closes his eyes.

_Naboo is dead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As we've seen from Rouge One, the Empire (First Order, whatever) are not immune to doing petty things like destroying a planet just to get back at some one.


	32. There's a valley of decision found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spring Break has arrived.   
> And to celebrate I finally got a chapter written!  
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.

Anakin has been silent. Now almost six hours into their flight, he hasn’t moved from his chair. He stares out the viewport with Leia in his arms, rocking her when she stirs. It took the infant a while to calm down—so much for her to feel all at once—and she went to sleep as soon as they got far enough away from the dead planet. She still looks sickly and frail, and Obi-Wan dreads the medical report they’ll get back on her once they hit the surface.

_Naboo is dead_. The words pass through his mind again, and he shivers. Anakin glances at him, noting his movement, but returns his eyes to the chaotic blues of hyperspace. 

Naboo was where everything started. Naboo was where he lost his Master, gained an apprentice, and started a war. The Clone Wars wouldn’t start for ten years after the events of the Trade Federation occupation, but Sidious’ rise to power had been the starting point. Before they left, he feared that Naboo might be the end of their story, but now he understands that it’s going to be the beginning of the end.

He can’t imagine what the rest of the galaxy feels right now, and he wonders if they know at the Temple. They had to. They would’ve felt it. He hopes someone tended to the younglings; that kind of thing would easily traumatize. For those who survived Knightfall, Naboo would come as another agonizing blow.

The time has come for them to drop out of hyperspace and redirect their flight path—an annoying but necessary precaution. Anakin makes no move for the controls, leaving Obi-Wan to settle in to pilot. He moved the lever back into place, easing their transition from faster than light travel, back to normal movement.

As soon as their ship drops out, encoded messages come signaling through. Display screen shows four with more on the way. They begin to play back one by one, each one increasing in urgency.

_“Masters, there’s been a massive disturbance. Have you felt it? Do you know what’s happening—“_

Ahsoka’s voice is replaced by Mace’s, _“We’ve received word of the attack on Naboo. Did you make it out with the child? Repeating: are you safe from the weapon?”_

_“Travel has been restricted across the galaxy.”_ Bail’s voice this time. _“It is urgent that you avoid major hyperspace lanes and find a place to lay low. The Empire is on high alert.”_

Ahsoka again. _“Lothal has been closed off to traffic. A State of Emergency has been declared and they’re not letting anyone in our out. There are dozens of ships monitoring each major planetary system. Do not, I repeat,_ do not _approach Lothal.”_

“Cut it off.”

Anakin’s voice startles him more than the messages did. His voice sounds rough, ragged, a fine representation of Anakin’s current physical state. Obi-Wan obeys, silencing the messages and the alert tone. Anakin turns back to the viewport, the cabin falls silent again, and Obi-Wan must be the one to break it.

“Where should we go? We can’t very well jump to light speed.”

“The nearest thing resembling civilization is a space station.” He mumbles, pulling up a file. “It’s independent, but is mostly a haven for organized crime.”

“Any chance we could slip in unnoticed?”

He scoffs. “If there’s one thing criminals are good at, it’s security. But unless you’ve got a bottle of baby formula stored in your utility belt, we’re going to have to stop somewhere.

Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow. “And you think the Black Sun are selling formula on their station?”

“I’m sure there are some future crime lords running around there, too.”

It’s a halfhearted attempt at humor, but he welcomes it none the less. He wonders if he’ll ever hear a true, unrestrained laugh from Anakin again. They became increasingly rare during the war, but he had hoped after the war that some semblance of his Padawan would return. But the battle-hardened man that Anakin had become had turned into a soul weary one. For all he likes to pretend that he’s still ready for the fight, his apprentice is full of grief, defeated.

And he thinks, in a way, they all are.

But Jedi don’t get to quit when they get tired. He knows that. He knows Anakin knows that. And so the Order will continue to fight.

Leia stirs a bit then, as Anakin sinks further into his chair.

“You need to sleep, Padawan. I’ll take Leia and route us to the station. Rest.”

Anakin passes the infant to him and goes to the small sleeping quarters, saying nothing as he exits. The older Jedi keys in the coordinates and the code for non-hyperspace travel.

He holds Leia up in front of him, pulling her back a little as she grabs for his face. “You and I are in for a quiet ride, Little One.”

Repositioning her into a cradle-hold, he moves the chair side to side in a swaying motion, with every intention to get her back to sleep. She needs her rest, too. Obi-Wan has already spent a good portion of his life getting Skywalker’s to sleep; Leia will be no exception. One light Force suggestion later, and the infant falls asleep, content and curled into his chest.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

A little reworking of their disguises allows them to enter as bounty hunters with little to no questions. The sight of a baby takes back a few guards, but they don’t press too far. Anakin’s Outer Rim accent improves their cover, while Obi-Wan’s would raise suspicion. He tells the security that the “short one” is mute.

For that he gets an elbow to the ribs.

They don’t get in far before he starts to feel uncomfortable. They draw eyes with each shop they pass; dealers watch them warily. If they can find some formula without also having to buy spice, Obi-Wan thinks it would be a good day. At this point, he’s not optimistic.

Rounding a corner, they turn into an alley way. Anakin passes Leia off to Obi-Wan, before going back out in search of supplies. Obi-Wan checks to make sure the coast is clear and jumps up on a ledge of a nearby building, bouncing from ledge to ledge until he reaches the top. In the center of the city stand a few condemned apartment buildings. It’s not ideal, and Obi-Wan knows before he looks that the bottom floors are riddled with users. The upper most floors should be clear though. He passes onto another rooftop, and uses the access hatch to drop into the hallway of the highest floor.

There’s an empty room at the corner, all the way down on the left. He manages to get the door open without much fuss, and it jerks open, revealing a dour room. A quick scan of the room shows a sleep couch, a small kitchen unit, and a couple of empty crates. He unravels Leia from her sling around his torso and creates a make shift crib out of one of the boxes.  

Anakin shows up nearly an hour later, arms full of supplies, and with news. “There’s almost no access to the HoloNet here. It’s completely isolated. If we hadn’t been so big during the war, I don’t think many people would still recognize us.”

“Let’s not try that just yet. I am perfectly fine playing the anonymous bounty hunter.”

 His former Padawan picks up Leia, now wide awake and a bit cranky. Obi-Wan passes him a prepared bottle, and the baby takes it gratefully. She doesn’t look any less pale, but keeping her fed is their only option right now.

There’s a datapad among the supplies Anakin picked up; one that looks HoloNet capable. Obi-Wan sets about securing a signal and getting them connected. The text files stream in first. Just the headlines make his stomach sink: increased Imperial monitoring of hyperspace, restrictions on HoloNet access, lockdowns on intraplanet travel, etc. These changes would put a damper on any new activity without further support from those loyal to the Republic. He wants Bail to think long and hard before risking his people and his planet by taking action. Naboo won’t be the only planet to suffer.

He’s interrupted by Anakin clearing his throat across the room. Leia is back in her crib, and the younger Jedi has his hands behind his back, hiding something and looking so much like a youngling he can’t suppress a smile.

“Yes?”

“Happy Life Day, Master.” And he holds out a small, cake like pastry.

Obi-Wan checks the date on the datapad. “So, it is.”

His former Padawan moves to sit across from him on the sleep couch and passes the cake and a fork to him. Obi-Wan splits the carton in half, cuts the cake, and gives Anakin a piece on the lid. Neither say anything: this give and take is so ingrained in their being, that there’s no need to.

After a couple of bites, Anakin asks, “How does forty feel?”

He thinks for a moment. “If this is what forty feels like, then I’m dreading fifty.”

Anakin laughs and then grimaces, putting his piece down and unfolding a leg. His movements are stiff, and reaching out, Obi-Wan can feel the pain starting to build. “I think I may have reached the point of overdoing it. Pain is a good sign, I guess. At least I’m starting to have persistent _feeling_.”

“We need to get you and Leia to a healer. Or a hospital. I miss Core World medicine more and more every day.”

The younger Jedi sobers immediately. “On that note…” He glances at Leia. “I’ve been thinking…I-I don’t know if our healers can do anything for her. Really. She’s a baby, so it’s not like the darkness can cling to her. She’s innocent. But still, the damage has been done. Her body is a wreck, Master. I don’t know much about kids, but I can remember kids on Tatooine who were deprived of things like she was, and they had so many challenges.”

“Developmentally, you mean.”

“Yeah.” He’s struggling with something. And Obi-Wan can’t argue with him. She’s going to need medical care, most likely involving supplement and hormone treatments, and she’s going to need therapy.

It’s a few seconds before Anakin speaks. “Before the end of the war, Pa-Padmé had mentioned that Bail and Breha were talking of adopting. As far as Sidious knows, we have her. Maybe she would be safer hiding in plain sight.” He pauses again. “What if, what if we found a way to get her to Alderaan?”

Obi-Wan hopes the shock doesn’t show on his face. Anakin from before Order 66 would never suggest such a thing. Anakin from before would demand they stay together; that his family belongs together. And for him to realize that the safest place for her may not be with them…

“Are you really okay with that?”

He sighs, and his shoulders droop. “No, but it doesn’t matter if I like it. If it means she’ll be taken care of, then I’ll deal with it. House Organa has the means to care for her. I don’t.”

“That solves one of two problems; I’ll grant you. But, she’s Force Sensitive, Anakin. And not just slightly. She’s related to you.”

“I thought about that. But Sidious has had both of the twins for at least some period of time. If they’re together, I don’t know if the Temple can block the strength of all three of our Force Signatures, and while you and I can mask to some extent, it wouldn’t be enough from broadcasting ‘Skywalker’s here’ to anyone who was searching.”

“You’ve thought about this.”

“I have.”

He rests a hand on his shoulder. “You have my support whatever you decide. But I have one final question: who would be there to shield her from Sidious as an infant, and—Force forbid—teach her to do the same if she must be there long term.”

The door to their room slides open, and a familiar figure stands in the entrance.

“I could.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who do you think our guest is?  
> I'd love to hear some guesses!


	33. Walking through life's dark, shady valley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hey. Guess who's still alive?  
> One more semester down.  
> Unbeta'd as usual. All mistakes mine.

Ventress leans languidly against the door, smirking at Anakin where he sits on the sleep couch. She looks like she’s been on the run due to her status as Dooku’s former apprentice. She’s thinner than she was; her clothes hang off her shoulders like a sack. Obi-Wan tries to get a read on her in the Force, hoping to assess her alignment, but he senses neither light nor dark and it confounds him. She feels neutral in the Force, and he wonders what has changed since their last encounter.

“She’s not—she can’t be—she _died_ , Master—How?”

He pinches the bridge of his nose, willing his headache to stop before it gets any larger. “Apparently not.”

She grins then. “How’s life since the war treated you boys?”

Anakin snarls. “Oh, it was just great. And I found out _you_ survived.”

“A pleasure as always, Skywalker.” She walks over to Leia, and reaches a hand down to the child.

Obi-Wan feels a dangerous surge in the Force, and Anakin struggles to his feet, his voice low. “Do. Not. Touch. My daughter.”

“Relax, Boy. I’m not interested in harming her.”

The room stays silent as both Jedi watch her movements. There was a time Obi-Wan would have given her the benefit of the doubt, but after their last meeting on Boz Pity he wonders if he’d ever been right about her. He thought she had died that day, and he had her placed onto medical transport. Clearly, she escaped, and for a moment he feels sorry for the pilots of the transport. He doubts they’re still in one piece.

“What’s wrong with her?” Ventress runs a light Force perception over her, and Leia stirs, fussy. “She’s paler than I am.”

Anakin has finally managed to get himself to his feet and snatches Leia up, holding her away from the former Sith Apprentice. She settles into her father’s arms and goes back to sleep. “Sidious kept her away from any other living being and kept her pumped full of Force suppressants. We have no idea how that’s going to affect her as she grows and—”

A noise outside the door. A warning in the Force. Obi-Wan moves to stand in front of his Padawan, hand resting on his saber hilt. He hears a low voice whisper an order to break through the door and ignites his saber just as it blows open.

“You owe us big, Black Sun scum—” The leader trails off, shaking. “Je-Jedi? _Kill them_!”

He plunges into the Force, calling on his Mastery of Form III to assist him with the deflection as six men fire on the three of them. It’s only now that he notices Ventress lacks a weapon, and Anakin is preoccupied with his daughter. Before long the shouting, the sound of blasters, and the panic all fade away. He is one with the Force, and the Force flows through him now, surrounding him, turning him in to an impenetrable barrier. He doesn’t feel forty anymore; he feels whole and powerful as he was before the war.

He doesn’t remember ordering Anakin to move back towards the window, but suddenly he realizes that Anakin has already blown it open. A huge gap sits between them and the adjacent building, and while he would much rather they stay here and quell this little shooting match, he senses the number of adversaries growing. No disguises on now, jumping out of this window and into the spaceport means they’ll have bounty hunters on their tail, hoping to claim the price on their heads. There’s just so many of them, and he feels exhaustion starting to kick in. Behind him Leia screams, and Anakin does his best to try and calm her.

The air cracks around them with unrestrained power, and suddenly he finds himself jerked backwards while his opponents fly against the opposite wall. He turns to look and sees Anakin and Ventress hurling toward the roof. Reaching with the Force, he wraps it around Anakin to cushion his fall. Blaster fire resumes, shots hurtling past his head and landing close to where they are on the roof. Leia’s little hands are in front of her, and as she kicks and screams crates on the rooftop start to float.

“Master, I think she—”

“We can deal with it later. To the edge! Down! _Go_!”

It’s a long way to the streets, but they fall again, dodging various signs and wires as they descend. Anakin stumbles a bit when he hits the ground, but otherwise maintains his footing. Ventress raises an eyebrow but says nothing, and points to the opposite side of the street.

“There’s a back alleyway that leads to a sector of connected buildings, holding shops, restaurants, and such. You can almost cross the entire spaceport without going outside once you get in. It’s crowded, which should help us blend in until we can find ships.”

Anakin scoffs, bouncing Leia, trying to calm her down. “Oh, and we’re just supposed to trust you? We were doing just fine until you showed up with the Black Sun conveniently on your tail. You’re a bounty hunter; how do we know you’re not just leading us to a trap?”

Ventress looks at him instead. “Why is everything always so black and white with him? Honestly, Kenobi, I thought you’d raised him better.”

He jerks the two of them back into a little alcove between the buildings as a search speeder flies overhead. “We can’t stay on the streets much longer, Anakin. I sense no malice in her. No deception. Right now, she’s our best chance.”

“I still don’t like it.”

Obi-Wan pats his pouting friend’s shoulder. “You don’t have to. Ventress, lead the way.”

She pokes her head out around the corner and then darts to the right, further down the street. Following behind, he scans the area as they run, feeling for danger and checking up on Anakin as they travel duck in and out of alleys and crowds of people. Their surroundings become more and more populated the further they go, and they appear to have reached a street market when Ventress ducks between two stalls, opening an air grate.

“In here.”

_Vents._ He runs a hand over his face in disgust, but kneels to crawl into the tiny space. He takes it back. Now he can _definitely_ feel his forty years, and maybe a few more. His checks in the Force reveal that Ventress is doing the same, using it to guide them through the duct system. She confounds him. From Light to Dark to somewhere in between now, he senses something different. When Ahsoka had first come back he had thought she had aligned herself with the Grey Jedi, despite her insistence that she was no longer a Jedi. But feeling Ventress’ signature now, he realizes that Ahsoka stands so firmly rooted in the Light, and that this is what a “grey” signature truly feels like.

He supposes she’s done some soul searching during her time alone in the galaxy.

They round another corner, and she holds up one finger to her lips as she peers out through the grates. Coast clear, she nods and the three of them crawl out into an expanse. She walks to a nearby terminal labelled “Directory” and downloads a map onto her holoprojector.

The place is huge, building next to building connected by glass covered walkways through water features and indoor gardens. Red and gold columns rise between the floors of each, sporting signs for various businesses, eateries, shops, and more. They tread on a red printed carpet as they pass through each structure. It looks old, or perhaps it was just designed to look old. There’s some sort of text engraved in to the floor along the sides of the carpets, but it’s nothing he’s ever seen before. Perhaps some sort of code. They move through each expanse, careful not to look suspicious, but continue checking through the Force for any dangers or surprises.

“Master…” Anakin mumbles jerking his head to left a little. “Gangsters in the corner there. Can’t see their insignia, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Sun has eyes everywhere.”

Ventress moves closer to them. “More on the upper level there.”

“Mhmm. I’ve noticed a few up ahead as well. Their numbers grow the closer we get to the exit.” Against the opposite wall hang signs labeled and point in different directions. Down and on the left is one for the hanger district.

Ventress resumes her position in the front. “How many do you think are waiting for us on the other side of this door?”

“Too many,” says Obi-Wan, and he takes his saber from the pouch inside his borrowed tunics.

A moment to center himself. A moment to breathe. A moment after Ventress takes out the door guard and steals his blaster. The door slides open and at least a hundred Black Sun stare them in the face. Obi-Wan’s saber springs to life, and Anakin’s does too, having shifted Leia to his other arm. Ventress walks forward with confidence, holding her blaster securely in front of her but making no move to fire.

“Boys, boys. There’s no need for all this.” She keeps walking, and Obi-Wan falls in just beside her, both of them blocking Anakin and Leia.

“You stole nearly a million credits worth of spice!” Someone shouts.

She and their de facto leader exchange more useless words, giving Obi-Wan time to scout the hanger. He knows Anakin will pick out a ship, so he spends his time looking for some environmental advantages. There’s a magno-lift hanging above a small group of fighters, similar to Grevious’ magna guards on Utapau. That would be an easy drop. A small set of fuel barrels sits beside another group, which could be used to take them out, but may also blow a hole in the hanger. Ventress crosses a thin, black guiding line on the floor and the sound of cocking blasters resonates through the hanger.

Ventress has run out of things to say, and they need to go before _all_ Black Sun shows up in this hanger. His eyes meet hers and he sends a pulse to Anakin at the same time. _Now!_ He pulls the magno-lift down with the Force as soon as the blaster fire starts, and flinging his hand the other way, he knocks a few more off their feet. Ventress takes out a few on the upper walkways, dodging the shots Anakin manages to deflect. He can’t aim well with an infant in his arms, but he does alright all things considered, and makes his way toward which ever ship has caught his eye. Obi-Wan and Ventress fall in behind him, taking out as many as they can, but more pour in behind those, through every crack and crevice of this place.

Something heavy files past his head, landing just between him and the other two, and it’s almost too late when he realizes what it is. No time to call out, to offer a warning, he throws the two of them forward and jumps back, just before it explodes, rattling the floors, the walls, his _ears_. The smoke makes it impossible to see, but he can hear the sound of a ship falling in pieces between them. Must be the oddly shaped cargo transport they saw when they came in. As the dust clears, he realizes he can’t see Anakin or Ventress and knows the downed ship blocks his most accessible route.

He’ll simply have to find another way around and fight off the small army of Black Sun behind him. Just another day at the office.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Anakin feels the explosion before he hears it, and as he flies forward, he turns, mecho-arm placed over Leia for added protection, and lands on his back. Which turns out to be not as good a decision as he’d hoped because the ship he’d been running under now fell on top of him, pinning his legs. And in fact, something—a piece of durasteel—cuts into his leg below the knee. The pain causes him to lose his grip on the Force he’s pushing into his legs, and he feels excitement at the feeling of _pain_ before everything goes numb again.

“Skywalker!” Ventress shouts, stopping in her tracks. “ _Get up!”_

“I-I can’t.” And he sees her kneel beside him, trying to move the ship with the Force. “No, no! Don’t move it. They’ll open fire and neither one of us can defend ourselves.”

“I’ll get it moved and then we can run—”

“Ventress,” Anakin says, grabbing her arm with his other hand. “I _can’t._ ”

Realization dawns, and she glances down at his legs. “What do you want me to do?”

He takes a long breath and reaches through her with the Force, trying to feel the things Obi-Wan did. He senses the change in her, but what kind of change it is he can’t tell. The darkness is…gone. She feels truly and completely neutral; a loud grey presence in the Force, firm and rooted. An odd sensation, but he welcomes it. She feels calm and centered, and Anakin makes a decision he prays he won’t regret later.

“Ventress. Take her. Please.”

She shakes her head. “We’ll wait for Kenobi and—”

“No. We can’t—I can’t take her. It’s too risky. She’s too strong in the Force. That power that flung us out the window earlier? That was her. And she’s a _baby_. Please, Ventress. Take her. Get her to Alderaan.”

They hear the sound of men climbing the rubble, and the sound of a lightsaber in the distance. But the hum moves further away, and Anakin knows Obi-Wan has found another way around. He won’t get here fast enough, and Anakin fears getting captured with an infant. Their captors won’t be kind to a child. He grew up a slave; he knows what happens to children held captured by ruffians. He kisses Leia’s forehead and extends his arms up to Ventress, who takes the child gently, wrapping the Force around her protectively.

She gets five steps away, and he calls out after her. “Asajj! If she doesn’t make it to Alderaan, I’ll come after you. You understand me?!”

“Yes, Skywalker. She’ll make it intact.”

She runs off into a ship at the back of the hanger, and he turns back to the mess at hand. He tries to work the metal out of his leg, which may not be the best idea, but he decides he’d rather take the risk of bleeding out then getting blown to bits. He calls out for Obi-Wan through the Force, and his Master responds with a hurried wave of reassurance and an _I’m almost there._

He wiggles the pile of rubble with the Force, knocking a few of his would-be assailants off in the process. His Master drops down behind him moments later, ducking behind the burning pile of ship. His eyes immediately dart to the piece of steel in Anakin’s legs.

“Hold still.” He starts to work the metal out of his leg, which Anakin now notices is attached to a wing.

“I can’t feel it anymore, so just pull.”

Obi-Wan yanks up and out, discarding the metal and using a piece of his tunic to wrap around his leg. He ties the fabric off in a make-shift bandage. “We need to coordinate. If we can push this metal back hard enough, hopefully we’ll trap them on the other side.”

“Sounds good. I just can’t move. There’s a ship just big enough to take both of us on the left there.”

Obi-Wan gets him leaned up, draping one of Anakin’s arms over his shoulder. “Wait, where’s Leia?”

“I-I told Ventress to take her to Bail. We can talk about it later.”

He nods. “On three.”

The count down together, flinging their hands forward and throwing the broken ship backwards and into the crowd of Black Sun. Obi-Wan jerks him to his feet, dragging him to the ship he had spotted a moment ago. Anakin holds a piece of the rubble up behind them as they ran, shielding them from fire. He hears the Black Sun getting closer, and now they’re running along the catwalks above, shooting down at the two of them. Obi-Wan’s lightsaber only blocks their one side; the other is completely exposed. As they approach the vessel, Anakin opens the ramp, hacking into the wiring with the Force. Once they’re up the ramp. Obi-Wan slams the door closed, deposits Anakin on the floor, and runs to the front to get them off and in the air.

Anakin lays staring at the ceiling for a while, loss of blood and motion of the ship making him woozy. He knows he should try to get himself up and to the front of the ship to help Obi-Wan—with what he’s not exactly sure—but he’s rather comfortable where he is. So, after a moment of contemplation, he closes his eyes and decides to stay here until Obi-Wan gets them away. He couldn’t fault him for wanting a short nap, right?


	34. Support me in the whelming flood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy all! I'm still here and still working on this. I just needed some time this summer to get over an illness and take my graduate school exam.
> 
> I am reusing a title because I am from the Houston area of Texas, and as some may know, we've experienced quite a bit of flooding and storm damage from Hurricane Harvey. Oddly enough, it was all that chaos that inspired me to sit down and figure out the end of this story. This isn't it! But I do know now where I want it to end.
> 
> Without further ado:  
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.

Barriss knows more than she’s letting on. Ahsoka is certain of it. The problem remains that Inquisitors have been trained to resists torture, and even if they hadn’t, she can’t inflict too much pain with so many Jedi wandering around. Such an action would not be viewed as “Light.” So, instead she’s finishing up her seventh round of investigations, using every skill Anakin taught her—and a few she’s picked up—to try and connect all the dots Barriss had given her.

Now, she’s staring at what might be the three hundredth dead end today, and frankly, she wants to scream. But she can’t do that in a temple full of Jedi, so she finds Caleb and asks him to watch the screens for her while the search runs. Once he’s in her chair and clear on how everything works, she goes to her room, puts on her town clothes, and takes a speederbike out into town. Barriss may be silent, but there are always drunk Imperial officers willing to brag about the latest success of the Empire.

The grasses blow flat underneath her bike and the wind against her skin chills her a bit, but for a moment she’s reminded of the battlefield, riding down on falling fighters, stealing STAAP’s with her Master. The war has seemed so chaotic compared to now, but fighting the Separatists was easier than fighting the Empire, even with Sidious controlling the whole thing. Now, she can never be certain who is for them and who is against them. It used to sadden her. At the moment, it aggravates her.

She pulls up and parks her speeder on the edge of town and ducks into the town’s only cantina. Even though it’s early, the place is packed; a testament to the complete lack of anything else to do here. Sure enough, she spots a passel of Imperials sitting clustered around a set of stools. She sits down one removed and orders a light drink. Can’t have too much or she risks blurring the Force. She listens in to the officers next to her, leaning in a little, but not enough to be suspicious.

“That’s not what I heard,” one of them is saying. “I heard it was on a that spaceport. The one crawling with gangs and bounty hunters.”

“You think two Jedi would be dumb enough to run to a space station full of people chomping at the bit to collect a bounty on them?” the other asked, incredulous.

“I’m not here to reason it out. Just reporting on what was told me.”

_That sounds like Anakin and Obi-Wan._ She thinks. _Always creating more work for themselves._

“Once Sidious gets this world destroyer finished, he’ll be able to eradicate any world harboring Jedi. They’ll have to come forward or risk killing thousands of people. We won’t have to keep working with bounty hunting scum.”

One of them sighs. “I kept hoping he’d abandoned it. It’s made work hours at the factories longer than necessary.” He tosses his drink back. “We don’t even get overtime.”

She takes note of the name of the factory on his uniform. Must be an overseer. Maybe they can do some sabotage in their own backyard. She’ll put it to the others when she gets back. The conversation shifted then, and she lost interest. Tossing a few credits to the bartender, she quietly excused herself. Their speeders sit outside, unguarded. She breaks into the lock compartments in the two of them, finding nothing useful in the first one, and a datapad in the second. On the back of the pad is the name of the factory that particular officer works at.

She takes it, and reseals the boxes the best she can, before getting on her own speeder and pulling away. As soon as she reaches the Temple, she starts a computer running a cross search with references to Jedi, gangster space stations, and events. With another she starts to decode the information on this pad on a secure channel, keeping the Imperials from being able to track the signal. Anakin had always insisted his hours of boring computer and technology training would be useful one day. She’d half-paid attention, taking notes only on the interesting things, but now she calls on all the teaching, the hours of sitting at a screen, or with a droid or terminal, and does all the digging she can do.

And she finds Anakin and Obi-Wan’s previous location.

*  *  *  *  *  *

“Anakin.”

There’s a voice pulling him out of his sleep, and he wishes it would go away. He tries to roll over, but not all of him moves, and the voice just won’t _leave him alone._ He feels lethargic, like consciousness eludes him, taunting him. He remembers the sluggish feeling brought out by loss of blood, and decides he’s just going to go back to sleep.

“Anakin, I need you up.”

_Go away._ He tries to swat at the noise, and it catches his wrist. The grip is familiar, and he thinks he fells a presence he’s well accustomed to. Suddenly he knows whose voice that is, and he wills himself back to complete awareness, fighting off the lag of injury.  

“Master?”

Obi-Wan’s face materializes above him. He’s got a hand on his shoulder, and the other one still grips his wrist.  He’s been moved from the hard floor to a chair, and the events of the day come back to him.

“Where are we?” He looks out and sees they’re not in hyperspace. In front of the viewport, he sees nothing but stars for miles in all directions.

“I made a series of jumps once we left the station. We’re at the edge of the Outer Rim, three days from Lothal.” He hands him a glass of water, sitting across from him in the other chair. “Oh, and we’re out of fuel.”

“So, we’re floating aimlessly? Fantastic.” He runs a hand over the bandages he spots on his legs, wincing when he pushes on the injury.

“Now, now. Leave it alone.” His master scolds, and he sheepishly lays his hands back at his sides. “We’ve got a canister or two of fuel onboard, but no spacesuits. So, I need you to hold us steady, so I can refuel us.”

_What?!_ “You’re not going out there are you?”

“Are you sure you didn’t hit your head? No, Anakin,” he says, slightly exasperated. “I’m going to send them out the airlock one by one and use the Force to transport the fuel. I can hold the canisters to the opening and create a seal as long as the ship is steady. I know you’re still groggy, but do you think you can manage?”

“Oh. I’ll see what I can do.” He swivels in the chair, using his arms to turn himself. He runs his hand over the console, and reaches out in the Force, sending his consciousness around the ship. The throbbing in his head is apparent now, and he does his best to banish the shake off the fog that still lingers from his unconsciousness. He hears Obi-Wan’s footsteps retreating to the back of the ship, and centers himself waiting for the sound of the airlock.

As soon as he hears the airlock open, he pulls back on their vessel. The ship is still in motion, despite the engines being off, moving from the left-over inertia. He brings the ship to a complete stand still, acting as the outside force acting on the object, and feels Obi-Wan’s force signature surge as he gets to work. Anakin gets everything ready to kick on as soon as both canisters are in. He uses the auxiliary power to find the closest, non-affiliated refueling station. The sooner they get moving, the less likely it is that anyone will be able to stumble across them, and the sooner he’ll be able to get back to Lothal. Hopefully, Organa will be willing to take a personal call. 

The airlock seals, and Anakin starts the engines roaring back to life. Keying in the coordinates, he kicks them into hyperspace. Obi-Wan reappears, sitting in the chair beside him.

“So, care to explain why Leia is now in the hands of your ‘arch nemesis?’”

“You always said I should be more trusting.” He tries to joke, but his own nerve caused it to fall flat. “I’m terrified, but I lost the grip on my body, and they were coming. So, I told her to take her, keep her safe. And for some reason, she agreed. I’m not happy about it, but it was the best option.”

“We’ll contact Bail once we get back to Lothal, but I have a feeling she will be quite well.”

Anakin says nothing to that, watching the elongated, blue stars of hyperspace fly by. They’ll get refueled, they’ll get home, and then Anakin is going to demand some new action be taken. They can’t take on Sidious head to head, but they have to do more. They have to. His children need a better galaxy to grow up in. He’ll be damned if he dooms them to life under the Empire, slaves in all but name.

*  *  *  *  *  *

Sidious knows it’s only a matter of time before the Jedi try something, and he knows they have supporters in the Senate, no matter how silent they may be. Organa backs them certainly, but even with his control and influence, Sidious knows removing him without cause will create a stirring among the systems under his thumb. He can’t risk them pulling away and creating an army, not until he has Skywalker securely in place by his side.

For now, he’ll have to focus on moving his plans forward: finishing construction on the destroyer of planets. The bioweapon has worked so far, but it doesn’t quite possess the finality that complete removal of a celestial body would stir up among the galaxy.

Outside his office, the bustling lives of trillions of beings flew past in the form of streaks of lights, brief and impermanent. He stares at them unseeing, focusing outward on the rest of the galaxy in an attempt to locate any one of his assets. The senior Skywalker is impossible to find as long as Kenobi’s influence is near him. The boy was lost to him long ago as well, after a successful rescue by “the Team.” The girl though is a recent capture and he should be able to find her, a lingering darkness should drip from her signature. But when he follows the trail, he feels a mass of Grey energy surrounding her, moving out in all directions. He can sense her general area, but can’t get an exact pinpoint of her location.

Rage bubbles up around him, and the room takes the brunt of his outburst. He hasn’t had a fit like this in many years, but the Jedi and their meddling elicits a response that tends to be well beyond his normal standard of control. His guards rush into a scene resembling a disaster zone, their Emperor standing in the center, seething.

“I want a team of Inquisitors out searching. _Now!_ Bring them all to me. _Bring them to me!”_


	35. We come to thee with cleansing fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Je suis vivant! I'm just a little drowning in Senior Year right now. I know this chapter is a little vague, but as Rebels is about to do a thing with Lothal, I kind of want to see where that goes so I can include it if necessary. That being said, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter. Christmas break is coming, so I should be able to get everything I have hand written typed up during that time.
> 
> Onto the show!

 

“Home sweet home.” Anakin mutters as he sets the ship down in an empty spot.

Obi-Wan helps him out and down the ramp, so they can begin their march back to the Temple. The prairie grasses, soaked through from a recent bout of storms, stick to his trousers as they walk. His pants will probably be drenched by the time they arrive.

His Master must’ve sensed his displeasure, because he smiles and says, “It certainly beats Belsavis.”

“That it does, but I’d still rather—”

“Master!”

Ahsoka’s voice catches their attention as she comes barreling over the hills. “I was watching your arrival.”

He feels a spike a panic from both himself and Obi-Wan. “You tracked us?” They both ask.

“Relax, I _kind of_ tracked you.” She pauses a minute, getting on his other side, helping to keep him upright. “I did a bit of calculating to place you and find out how long it would take you to get here. Then I just monitored ships entering and exiting the system over the last few days.”

Anakin grins. “We should thank whoever taught you how to do all that.”

“No, he’s got a big enough head already.” She smiles as they both laugh, before sobering and getting down to business. Anakin regrets for a minute how quickly she falls into the mode of commander and leader and longs for the days when she was full of joy and hope. “I’ve got Master Shryne and his Padawan out scanning for intel on the Empire’s objective for Lothal. We’ve still got Barriss locked up, and I’ve been trying to work out a way to get more information out of her.”

She doesn’t ask the obvious question, but Anakin senses her curiosity, and lets out long, slow breath. “Leia is with Ventress.”

“She’s what?!”

Okay, not how he’d meant to word it. “Ventress is taking her to Bail Organa on Alderaan for safe keeping. It’s a long story, and I’d rather not get into it now.”

He sees the Temple in the distance and for the first time since Order 66 dropped and everything in his life came crashing down, he feels like he’s coming home. It still feels incomplete. His family isn’t back together yet. But they will be soon. They will be soon.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Ahsoka had approached them with the idea at the start, since they’re one of the few Master-Padawan teams since who draw the least attention. Caleb has been itching to get back into the action, but loitering on a rooftop scouting for Imperials who get too close wasn’t exactly what he had in mind. Master Shryne set up across from him, with a make shift file interception apparatus, downloading all unencrypted files that pass through from official to official. He learned this trick during the war; the Separatists would hide important information in what appears—to the untrained eye—as routine reports between the brass.

In Caleb’s honest opinion, his job is a bit more fun. He takes this time to watch the people; Lothal’s capital reminds him a little of Coruscant. It has a surprising amount of diversity for a small city. He wonders what it looked like before the Empire. He can’t say for sure, but he imagined more colour, not necessarily on the buildings but in the people. He could picture neighbourhoods coming together, blocks and streets lined with children who played with the native lothcats while their parents looked on.   

His ears perk up when he hears the tell-tale clacking of Phase II armour. He watches a group of Stormtroopers round the corner, the sunlight bouncing off the mass of solid white. He sends his master a warning in the Force, to be alert, to be ready. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees him duck down a little lower and pull the receiver on the equipment down a bit. They pass through the square, and his cats his gaze over the citizens, gauging their reactions. Shop owners move further back under their canopies, children cease their playing and huddle close together, and near a fruit vendor, a couple holds their toddler a little closer. Sometimes, when he sees them, he wonders if any of his former friends are stationed here. He’s not sure what he would do if he saw one of them again, or what they would do if they saw him. The thought of accidently killing one of them makes him sadder than he thought it would, and at some point he decides he needs to reflect on when he had forgiven them. Maybe it was the experience in the Temple. Maybe his interactions with the Clones who had sided with them had changed his mind a bit. Had reminded them that they were human, too. And they were just as helpless in all of this as he was.

He presses himself flat against the edge of the rooftop as they march closer, eyes not leaving the troopers until they leave the square, turning between two buildings to move on to another part of the city. He sends his master a pulse of calms in the Force, its message : _All clear._ He feels on a tugging on his mind, feather light and gentle, from a present definitely not his master. He scans the square again with his eyes, while following the trail with his mind. His eyes lock with the toddler’s, and the child giggles, as if he’s been caught in a game of hide-and-seek. As they leave the square, he rests his chin on his mother’s shoulder, never breaking his gaze, and waves at him, tugging on his mind one more time.

Master Shyrne, comes up behind him then, equipment packed up. “I think this is a much as I can get us for the time being. Patrol cycles are speeding up at this point in the day.”

Caleb hears his voice but isn’t listening. His mind races, darting from place to place as he tries to process this encounter, trying to reach back to the boy, but being unable to find him. It takes every ounce of self-control he has to keep from leaping off the ledge and running after him. A Force Sensitive child left unprotected by the Order, fate left up to the Empire. How long would it be before someone caught him doing something a “normal” human shouldn’t be able to do? Would they take him somewhere, as some spotty intel indicates, or would the Empire shoot him dead on the spot, while his parents could do nothing but watch? The thought makes him shake with rage.

“Caleb?”

Master Shryne’s hands on his shoulders grab his attention. “Sorry, I-I’m alright. Master, I—there was a boy; he can’t be more than two. He was here just a minute ago. When I reached out in the Force to you, that last time, he must’ve felt it, because he reached out to _me_.”

A shadow falls across his Master’s face. “There are Force Sensitive children across the galaxy that will be lost to us until the Empire falls. Now, come, we need to get these files back to our friends, so we can start sorting through them.”

Caleb gaped. “We can’t just leave them! The Empire could kill them!”

“And by losing our focus on the larger goal, by spreading ourselves too thin, we risk losing ourselves.” He sighs, and suddenly looks years older. “There aren’t as many of us as there used to be, Caleb. Now, come. You want to save that child? Let’s start by saving his world.”

He bows a little, feeling rebuked. “Yes, Master.”

He holds the case of equipment once they reach the bike, placing it between the two of them so that he can hold on.

He understands the big picture; he does. He knows whatever the Empire has planned can’t be good. But as much as the logical, rational part of his mind knows that his Master is right, he can’t stop seeing dark, black hair and blue eyes locked into his. It wouldn’t take much work to find out who this kid is and where he lives. Maybe he could talk to them; neither parent looked to enthused by the stormtroopers. If he misread them, he risks exposing the Jedi Remnant here, but leaving that little boy unprotected is something he just can’t do.

Master Shryne would understand. He would. But Caleb will still keep it to himself until after it was done.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Obi-Wan takes to sorting through the files so that Anakin can spend some time with Luke and Ahsoka. He’s not doing anything useful anyway. Shryne makes them both a cup of powdered caf and sets them on the desk in front of them as they start to pour over the files. An automated search wouldn’t work this time. They had no idea what they were looking for.

Lothal had plenty of Imperial factories, scattered across the surface. The possibility exists that the Empire has concocted something so dangerous that Lothal had made it to the center of the Empire’s radar. Obi-Wan has a feeling that something else brews beneath the surface. Something more sinister. He asks the Force for direction, for an image, for _anything_ , and he sees one fleeting picture, one moment: _Fire._ Heat runs down his body, and Shryne looks at him.

“I felt it, too.”

Direction received, purpose in mind, they begin to dig and dig, deeper into the intel, trying to rationalize Imperial code and signal words to determine what is benign reporting and what is a shadow of something else. Obi-Wan knows this will be a process; the number of files that Shryne intercepted is larger than he expected.

He waves down a nearby youngling. “Will you put these files into folders according to subject material? I’ve labeled some with a general topic, but if you could sort them, it’d be a great help.”

The girl takes a seat next to them and sets about her task without complaint. Such a lack of activity would have killed Anakin at this age; Obi-Wan had endured many bouts of fussing and fidgeting when trying to sit him down to do anything, which had led to the understanding that as much as Obi-Wan enjoys quiet meditating with Anakin, his Padawan’s centered himself better doing some form of moving mediation. If that meant he had to spend time in the training salles running katas with him, so be it.

He finds this kind of mundanity a welcome respite from their recent escapades. His neck and shoulders ache from dragging Anakin up on to the ship, not to mention the battle in the hanger. Forty is settling into his joints and old injuries that he’d never let heal all the way before aggravating them again. He’s getting too old for those kinds of things.

“Master Kenobi, look.”

Shryne has a line of information about heat energy and the possibility of using immense grassland hidden among a report on weapons and munitions shipments. He pulls it out and pastes it on a document where they’d been placing other tidbits they have found so far, before passing this file on to the youngling. So far they just have snippets and lines about heat and fire, but after the death of Naboo, a certainty settles over them that these are the threads they’re looking for. The Empire has a plan for Lothal, a big one. They just need to stop whatever it is before it’s too late.  


	36. Let goods and kindred go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy late New Year and Late Christmas!  
> Slowly getting the hand written stuff transferred to the computer. It would help if I could read my own handwriting.  
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes mine.

He finds Obi-Wan asleep at a desk, with files half encrypted and scattered about the screen. His eyes dart across the information as he rousts him with a hand on his shoulder and a gentle _Master_ , setting a cup of caf down next to his hand. The older man wakes without much fuss, and Anakin feels guilty for stirring him a moment, but he known his Master would hate to miss this. And that’s a sympathy Anakin shares; he’s been looking forward to this since they got back.

“What time is it?” Obi-Wan asks, voice still foggy from sleep.

“Just after 0700. Bail’s calling in in about fifteen minutes. Ahsoka and Rex are waiting.”

Obi-Wan stands, joints cracking as he moves, and picks up his coffee. “My my, you dared wake Ahsoka up before eight. Your recklessness persists.”

He matches Obi-Wan’s smile with a playful one of his own. “She’s actually in a fairly decent mood, but that could be a result of the two and a half cups of caf she’s already downed this morning.”

They enter what passed as their communication center to receive their transmission. They’ve got the security measures in place on their end, and trust Bail to have done the same. This isn’t just a social call; Bail’s been doing some digging of his own on the Lothal issues, since he’s been given a new position on the Council for Planet-Safe Energy—which he and everyone on it knows is a sham, and that the research they fund and oversee has much darker implications. He also has a report on how the Imperial Senate and the rest of the galaxy is handling the Naboo incident. But he’ll still give an update on his “daughter,” and that’s what Anakin has gathered the group for. Anakin can feel his cautious excitement, and tries to keep the anxiety at bay. He doesn’t want his fear to ruin this moment. Bail’s image springs to life in front of them, in his arms a bubbly infant.

“ _Morning_.” He says by way of greeting, shifting Leia to his other arm.

“How is she?” Anakin asks, unable to get a good look at her due to the wavering blue of the holoimage. He’s well aware they should probably discuss the more pertinent issues first, but as far as he’s concerned, the galaxy will still be a steaming pile of poodoo _after_ he’s checked on his daughter.

Bail seems to understand. “ _She’s been responding well to nutritional treatments, and we’ve got her meeting with a developmental counselor, so she can hit her milestones. Her, uh,_ escort _has stuck around, but she assures me it’s for the best_. _The first few days she was overwhelmed, and nothing could calm her. Ventress told me it had something to do with Force suppressants, but I can’t even begin to understand any of that._

“She’ll need a protector if Sidious comes looking. Plus, she may be able to help hide her signature.” Anakin smiles at her, wishing he could hold her, wishing she could be here with them and her brother. Bail holds her more in the center of the image for him to see her better. He reaches up a hand and offers her a little wave.

Obi-Wan places a hand on his shoulder, an acknowledgement of his pain. It’s a fleeting moment, but he appreciates it. His Master directs their attention to the issues at hand.

“What else do you have for us, Senator?”

Bail hands the girl off to Breha, and settles in. “ _First_ , _the incident on Naboo has rocked the Core Worlds. I haven’t heard anyone come out in defence of it, or to condemn it. Everyone is too afraid to speak for fear of reprisal.”_

“The ‘incident.’” Ahsoka scoffs, pushing herself out of her seat to go refill her caf.

_“They have blamed rebel insurgencies, but haven’t placed a name to anyone. No one believes that, of course—only the Empire has the kind of resources or gall to carry out a monstrosity of that scale—but fear is a powerful motivator. It may be difficult to win planets to our side if they’re paralyzed with the fear of this_ _happening to their world.”_

“And a bioweapon like that isn’t the sort of the thing we can just go in a shut down,” Ahsoka says reappearing, steaming cup in hand.

“Are you not the least bit worried you’ll die of a caffeine overdose?” Anakin asks his former apprentice.

“I’m Togruta. Quit worrying about my caf habits and listen to the briefing.”

_“Anyways, the other point of information I’ve got for you is from the CPSE. Lothal and other grassland planets have been set aside to specific research lists. ‘Harness’ is the name of the file, but the research being done is all over the place, so I haven’t quite put together exactly what their plans are. But I can tell you that one of their research bases is in the Southern Hemisphere of Lothal, and I may or may not have the clearance codes to get you in.”_

“We’ll get a team organized.” Anakin says, nodding at Rex, who takes his leave to go round up a few willing participants. “We’ll brief and head out this evening.”

_“I’ll keep digging. Rumblings are growing here in the Senate. It won’t be too much longer until we can announce our presence, as an alternative. Many members of the Delegation of 2000 still pledge their support—be it financially or with the aid of planetary militia—but not until the time is right.”_

“We understand, and are grateful,” his Master says. “Thank you for the update, Senator. We’ll be in touch. May the Force be with you.”

He stands and bows and his image blinks out of sight.

Anakin sighs. “The work never ends. I’m going to sit this one out, I think, on account of my, uh, wobbly legs.”

Obi-Wan nods his agreement. “I’ll help if they need me. If not, Shaak Ti and I will spend some time working with you. Ahsoka,” he turns toward her, who glared at him over her cup. “Whenever you feel sufficiently awake, would you mind going and spending some time with Offee. We need whatever information she can give us on, well, _anything_ the Empire is doing.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

"Master," Anakin says, "Depending on what we find here, we may have to reveal ourselves sooner than we'd hoped. I don't know if we're ready. No, I  _know_ we're not ready."

"We will do what we must. And we must trust that Bail's network is deep and vast." He gives him a soft smile. "Padmé helped him craft it after all."

He watches his friends go their separate ways, off to prepare to go on mission. He’s been thinking a lot about the ways he’s changed since the end of the war, especially after his decision to trust a former enemy with his daughter. One thing that hasn’t changed, he decides, is how much he hates being left out. Hates watching his friends, his troops, his family go off and fight somewhere he can’t protect them. It’s a lesson the Force is ever trying to teach him, and one he’s not sure he’ll live long enough to learn.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Caleb feels sorry for missing the trip to the research facility, but he hasn’t been able to get this off his mind. He’ll be filled in on the details later, he’s certain, and he knows the team will be just fine without him. Armed with what he was able to dig up from the birth records, he heads back into Capital City. He figures the odds are good that the family still lives in the same place; the housing market can’t be great with the Empire in control.

He’d been listening to the broadcast when he heard them. A young couple, speaking out about standing up so that their son, and others like him could have a better life. It was certainly a long shot, but he felt like perhaps it was _them._ The ones from the market.

He starts to second guess himself the moment he…borrows…a speeder, and doubts plague his mind on the entire ride into the city. The Force wraps around him in that weird way it has ever since that day at the Temple, and presses him to continue forward. It places in him a sense of urgency and determination, that this task must be done, and it must be done _now._

Stashing the speeder several klicks out from the city, he makes the rest of the journey on foot. The grasses leave burs and strings stuck to his clothes, which help add to his poor boy narrative. He smears some of the mud left behind by the rains. It’s easy to get past the check point looking like an dirty, orphaned child. The Imperials aren’t exactly known for their pity, but they don’t want to waste time hassling a child with no papers. If he adds a limp on to his disguise, there’ll be no attempts to recruit him.

Past the outskirts, he cuts through the eastern market, ducking behind one of the abandoned school buildings and leaping onto the roof of the cantina adjacent to it. He stays to the shadows as he leaps from building to building, following his mental map to the target residential sector. People in the lowest income brackets are kept to the outside of the city, where they are more easily shipped in and out for industrial work. It allows him to stay away from the center ring, where the heaviest trooper presence is.

A few more blocks, then down and past the main separating road. He jumps down behind the buildings, walking around the front and joining in the crowds crossing the streets via the crosswalks. No one pays attention to him; he looks like any of the other orphan children who take up residence here, looking for pay at the factories and farms.

He finds the house in question without much digging. A thousand nightmare scenarios flash through his mind. He takes a deep breath, centering himself and banishing the fear. This is a risk worth taking. He steps forward and knocks on the door. A young woman answers, with a baby on her hip. Caleb recognizes him immediately. The baby giggles and reaches out with his hands while he reaching for his mind in the Force.

Moment of truth. “Ma’am, my name in Caleb Dume. And I was wondering if I could speak to you and your husband.” He lifts up his filthy, outer poncho ever so slightly, and reveals his lightsaber.  

Realization dawns in the woman’s eyes. She stands there, staring at him for a moment, before nervously checking the streets. “Come in. Come in. Dinner is just finishing up. We’ll, uh, we’ll talk over dinner.” To her husband, she calls, “Ephraim, dinner’s ready.”

The man climbs up from a room beneath the main one. “I was polishing up our next broadcast clip, love. Who was that at the door—”

He stops when he sees Caleb, poncho off now, revealing the tunics and saber beneath. Ephraim looks from him to his wife and back again, mouth trying to form words, but no sound coming out.

“Hello, Sir,” he says with a light bow. “I was wondering if I could speak with two of you.”


	37. In that unlikely place, I find him as they said

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd. All Mistakes mine.  
> Raise your hand if you're not ready for the Rebels finale! *raises hand*

Rex scans the compound entrance through his sights. Moderate trooper presence, with anti-personnel turrets on either side of the checkpoint, and at the front two corners and left rear one. But the right one backs up to a hill, too steep for the average person to use to sneak in. Patrols operate in waves. That’ll give the retrieval team time to get in unscathed. They can jump onto the compound roof from there and make their way underground.

He relays this over comms, and once he gets the okay from General Kenobi, heads down to do his part. Bail told them that some clones who stayed loyal to the Empire became overseers and inspectors, while others went on to be drill sergeants and armament controllers. It didn’t take them too long to acquire a uniform off one of the inspectors in central. The grey monstrosity will help him play the part, but he hates it. Hates these monkey suits and bureaucracy. Give him armour and a blaster any day. This stupid scanning visor feels uncomfortable across his eyes, but it’s standard for former clone inspectors, and it’s a  convenient way to get the Jedi imaging of literally everything he sees.

As he approaches the gate, he slows his speederbike and pulls out his false ID badge. General Skywalker’s pretty good at making fakes, so he has no concern on the computer not recognizing it. He eases up to the gate.

“Monthly inspection from Central,” he says, passing him the badge.

“You weren’t scheduled for another three rotations.”

“Believe me, I wasn’t thrilled to get called into work this evening either, but since the rest of the inspections have gone off with out a hitch, they wanted to fast track the rest.”

His grumbling seems to convince the gate guard, and once the computer clears his identichip, he’s waved in, and given a permit to park his bike. His escort detail is waiting for him as soon as he engages the locking system. Pulling out the datapad, he logs in, and pulls up the checklist that Bail had forwarded to him. Enough inspection questions to make him look legitimate, and a long list of “bonus” questions to gather information. It seems easy enough, and he has enough experience leading men into battle to appear commanding and authoritative. He just has to get through his interview and get out before General Kenobi inevitably causes chaos.  

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

It’s been long enough that Rex must be inside by now, so he and Mace move in. It’s the first time Mace has been out in the field since they got him back, and even though his connection to the Force is still shaky at best, the man’s a formidable fighter even without it. Shryne holds lookout position from the outside and has the job of collecting the information that Rex relays to him.

They slip in through the currently-empty trash door in the back, and begin navigating the service droid tunnels to the lower levels. The ceiling drops the further down they go. It becomes an issue for Mace long before it bothers Obi-Wan; the older man begins grumbling about low ceilings and his back as he hunches down to avoid ramming his head into things. For once he’s glad to be the more vertically challenged of his companions.

There’s an access panel somewhere on this wall, and when the texture of the wall changes beneath his hand, he knows he has found it. He unlocks it with the Force, and they crawl through, into the hallway. The head researcher’s office is down here somewhere; Bail has it on good authority that she’s temporarily out for maternity leave, and her replacement won’t be in just yet. Windu kneels by the control panel and pulls out the wires, enduring a few small shocks—and mumbling a few curses—before the door slides open.

Before they arrived, Obi-Wan had been concerned about getting any useful information off of Imperial data systems. Anakin is the master hacker, not him. Now, he’s not concerned about that being the issue. Dozens of filling cabinets line the walls, and neither one of them see a computer terminal or a datapad in the room. Just sheets and sheets of handwritten and typed documents on flimsi. Each bear the same Imperial Research Insignia, and they’re alphabetized from the left side of the room to the right. Her desk sits in the center, mostly clear, save a name plate and a file.

“We should’ve brought a bigger sack,” he says, cracking open the nearest cabinet. 

Windu doesn’t appreciate his attempt at humor. And really he doesn’t either, but it’s a better alternative to the cursing he wants to do or the whining Anakin would do. They don’t have a whole lot of time before Rex runs out of questions and droid staff come down, but sorting through all of this by hand won’t exactly be fast.

He feels Windu begin to probe the room with the Force and joins in the effort himself, searching for any sort of inclination as to what their bounty is. There’s only so hard they can push, and they end up with no results from the filing system.

“Wait,” Mace says, moving towards the ones at the back, right hand corner of the room.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Mrs. Bridger has just finished serving the three of them, and has set about feeding the boy, when she says. “It’s about Ezra; isn’t it?”

Perceptive. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re a Jedi; you made that much clear,” Mr. Bridger says. “How many of you actually survived? The Empire made it sound like they’d wiped you all out.”

“No, sir. They’re a few of us left. I’m just a Padawan though.”

At this point, Mr. Bridger smiles. “Ah, so I take it you’re a fan of the broadcasts. Not a big fan of the Empire either are you?”

He snorts, and the tension eases a bit. They trust him, and he can trust them. “I don’t want to keep you waiting, and I don’t want to be here long enough to draw attention. I saw you and your son in the market while we were doing a bit of reconnaissance. I…I don’t really know how to explain this, but I think he may be Force Sensitive. I felt a mind tugging on mine and when I followed it back it led me to him.”

His parents exchange a glance. Mrs. Bridger stops feeding him for a moment and brings him a toy. Caleb felt the slightest shift in the Force, and noticed him playing with the object. With the Force.

“Yeah.” She looks down at the floor, and he hears the fear in her voice. “We noticed. I keep waiting for a stormtrooper to see him do something while we’re out. Which is why _normally_ either myself or my husband stay behind with him, but we needed to register for tax season and…”

He nods. “So you’re certain no one knows?”

Ezra begins to fuss, and Mrs. Bridger resumes feeding him. “He was born at home. That was the day the war ended, and traffic was backed up, making it almost impossible to get to the medical center. And when the fall of the Jedi rang out across the galaxy…there was chaos. No one here quite knew what the Empire would bring to Lothal, and as excited as most farmers were, there was fear as well.”

“And since he was born here he didn’t have time to have is midichloiran count tested.” He finishes. “It’s a good thing he’s not in the Empire’s records. But I don’t know if it’s safe to stay here.”

The room is silent, save for the baby’s smacking as he takes the food off the spoon. Caleb knows—can _feel_ —they understand exactly what the consequences are should the Empire discover him. Death would be the kindest fate. Mr. Bridger clears the table, not saying a word as he does so.

He doesn’t want to frighten them. That’s not why he came, so as Mrs. Bridger puts Ezra down on a playmat, Caleb moves over to sit beside him. The baby nibbles at his toes, watching Caleb with intensity. His blue eyes are locked on his, so the Padawan decides to make a gamble. Gently, ever so softly, he brushes Ezra’s mind with his own. Pure, joyous laughter fills the air, and out of the corner of his eyes he registers mom and dad stop to watch them. He does it again, and this time as Ezra laughs, he reaches back. Caleb’s didn’t notice it the first time, but this feeling, the feeling of an infants signature invading his own, feels almost identical to the pure Light he felt in the Temple when they’d first arrived on Lothal.

It gives him peace. It fills him with hope.

And he thinks he feels the beginnings of a bond as well.

“Is the Jedi Remnant on Lothal?”

“Yes. And we have more than enough room for you.”

Mr. Bridger looks at his wife, and back at him, determination clear in the lines on his face. “We’ll be joining you, but we can’t all go at once. Take Ezra with you now, we’ll give you his sling. Do you need supplies for an infant—

“We’ve got another baby at the Temple. In fact, he and this little guy share a birthday. We’re good on supplies.”

“Mira will follow in two days’ time. I’ll come a week after. It should allow us to disappear without being flagged for ‘trying to move unlawfully.’”

He gives them the coordinates, and they get Ezra in the sling and fastened to him.

Mira kisses Ezra on the forehead. “I’ll see you in a few days, _amaun._ But, I think you’ll have a good time with Caleb.”

He holds her gaze. “I’ll keep him safe, ma’am. I promise.”

“Go.” Mr. Bridger says. “May the Force be with you.”

And so he does. He can’t take the rooftops, as he can’t do a whole lot of jumping around with a baby strapped to his chest. A light Force suggestion stills the child; he nestles against Caleb’s chest and falls asleep. Good. It’ll be easier for Caleb to take a more leisurely ground-based path back to where his bike is if Ezra is quiet.

It also give him plenty of time to figure out a way to explain all this to Master Shryne.

*  *   *  *  *   *  *  *

Obi-Wan, Windu, and Rex  have yet to return, but Anakin can’t sleep, and since he’s fighting a bout of colic, neither can Luke. He takes his fussy son with him to the computer lab, where he sits in a chair, rocking him back and forth and soothing him with the Force. Absently, he starts going over the data they’ve collected in the last few months. He’s not sure what he’s looking for—or _if_ he’s looking for something—but it’s better than sitting in the dark with a cranky child.

He reads through a few, before finding their information on Master Windu, and his post experimentation recovery. They have part of the research notes on the mix of chemicals the Empire was using to attempt to destroy his midichlorians. Cutting someone off from the Force “organically” wasn’t easy. The Order had tried that with the Exile, and it had resulted in Darth Traya draining their connection to the Force which killed them. The idea that a series of injections, or an asterisk reads—possibly a gaseous form—could do it is unnerving. They hadn’t succeeded of course, since Windu was slowly beginning to recover, but it certainly gives him something to think about.

It’s a fate worse than death for a Force user, a circumstance under which it is easier to break them: severing their connection to the Force. Anakin had only experienced it a few times, in the form of drugs, which, while miserable, didn’t completely cut him off from it. It was there, he could _feel_ it. He just couldn’t grasp it. His Master experienced it on Rattatak, but he doesn’t speak of it. It’s hard enough to get him to talk about Zigoola.

But if it can be done…he can think of nothing better for Sidious. To live a life devoid of the Force. He deserves worse than death, and for the most power Sith Lord in ages, this would be hell.

Anakin wonders if they can do it. If so, this will be his downfall.


End file.
